Cretan Vista Site News Archive April 2011

Cretanvista Site News & Reviews - April 2011 Issue 100

No links to sites with adult content accepted.

APRIL WEATHER..... Remained extremely changeable over short periods of time. Temperatures still on a see-saw. We thought that summer would never come. It seemed a case of promises - broken - promised again!

  Current Chania Webcam             Current Cretan Weather Link
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                     The roof, still needed wood protection...

This photograph, although the roof was not at this stage complete, gives at least some idea of the challenge of attempting to apply wood preserver, followed by varnish, to the inside, whilst hanging off the wobbly scaffolding! Read below...

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Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. XII
(Continued from March - Previous click here).

At the end the last episode...
.... But this time there was no escape - if the roofer was not to have to return next week (more expense) to finish the job then I had to take the weekend off. Not difficult with all the bits of my body which either didn't work properly or didn't work at all.... I took the weekend off.......

And then, as always, another problem raised it's ungodly head. Our agent revealed that the wood used in the roof had not been protected from either infestation or rot - a cardinal sin in this part of the world, where not protecting new timber was simply inviting it's destruction in a not great space of time. And the wood was all now on top of the house!..

We sometimes wondered uncharitably about our agents fee - what he actually did to make our paying it worth our while. But then perhaps it was just the sheer excitement that he managed to generate that made it all worthwhile - the current revelation meant that we needed to apply preservative to the new roof joists and covering wood. 34 joists and around 50 square metres of unprotected pine. All would probably be reduced to a 'holy' state, not to mention fading and darkening - unless preservative and a protective finishing coat were applied smartly. All was sat on an angled ascent from around 18 - 25 feet off floor level. The first floor mezzanine was still a future event. All our paint brushes hand handles approximately 6 inches long. My arms were about 3 feet - only about 12 -15 feet short of the target!!

If we paid our agent on an excitement scale he would have become a millionaire in no time at all...

Ok. Be positive! Analyze the problem and find the answer! The problem seemed to be the missing 13 - 21 feet between the end of my paint brush (on fully extended arm) and the inside of the roof. What I needed was a longer arm! Easy peasy...

Easy-peasy turned out, for anyone thinking that I mean flying with easy jet, to be not far from the mark. The only way I was going to get anywhere near the joists and new ceiling was to get up there with them. For someone who has always admired those girder-walking steel erectors and ladder climbing steeplejacks, but who has never aspired to join them, this was to become a serious challenge. Having just been responsible for laying the top couple of rows of brick it might not seem to be a problem, but working 18 feet or so above the quite solid concrete floor was to feel quite different with the roof on than with it off. More 'vertigoish' to invent a possibly new description. Unpleasant.... Unpleasantly so....

But at least I had a start, the scaffolding upon which I had spent more than several (un-noticed) wobbly hours was still in place, now inside the front-house. By getting a long extending decorator pole and taping a very large brush to the end enabled, just, by leaning out of the scaffolding over the empty space to the floor, reaching the inner apex of the ceiling just possible, and all the joists of course. By walking around each side of the house on the scaffolding it would be possible to apply the wood preservative and afterwards the protective finish. Good theory! But then all the best theorists were Greek. My problem turned out to be that I was English.....

It was a matter of levers - the paint brush, which weighed little on it's own, became suddenly heavy when attached to a twelve foot long pole held at arms length and a painting motion applied! Very heavy. And the scaffolding wobbled dangerously. Try it yourself - get yourself up on rickety scaffolding 18 feet or so above a piece of concrete; get yourself a 12 foot long paintbrush; dip it in the paint; then hold it out at arms length at an angle of around 20^o and attempt to paint an angled ceiling with it while hanging out of the rickety scaffolding!! But first just try dipping your brush in the paint - you will resemble something between a ballet dancer/parachutist attempting to toss the caber having just decided not to jump and attempting to hold on to the 'plane. In 30-40^o heat... Exciting stuff...

But the job was completed - although much of what I said during the completion had nothing to do with being a happy bunny, and was mostly in a foreign language containing extremely strong references relating to the desirability of gelding (with a pair of house bricks!) those I held responsible for placing me in this particular predicament! Very desirable I constantly muttered through gritted teeth as the sweat drenched and dripped off me. At least my arm was dead for a little while - after the pain stopped.

Very desirable? It should be compulsory for such people, done very sharply and forcefully - and mind your thumbs - left between the bricks as they come together will cause both parties to have tears in their eyes!

If only I had known then what I know now. Isn't that always the case? But gelding remains good! Very good!

Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. Is condensed from the book 'Pamela's House' - in current preparation... Continued in May...

In the News Reviews...
International Museum Day...
Is March 5th is the every year. The internationally renowned Benaki Museum in Athens is spotlighting the Historical Museum of Crete, Iraklio to mark the event. Praise indeed - the Benaki itself is well worth a visit, and has many Cretan items on display. Weaving and the woven items may well be of special interest.....
                                                      Link to Story.
The Acropolis Museum*...
In Athens is developing on in it's effort to attract more visitors. On the weekend of April 16/17 the museum will be offering families 'All day' themed experiences. There is also a new library and reading room....
                                                      Link to Story.
*On a recent visit we found one 'theme' - the upper floors, we believe, meant to give the impression of a ship's deck realistic enough to give the feeling of rolling decks - a little over-done perhaps...

Plus, another Cretan Museum...
This one a museum of typography is open to visitors at the Park of Local Industries highlights printing presses used by Haniotika Nea, a local newspaper, from the earliest days. The museum is the work of Yiannis Garedakis and his wife Eleni - rare books and printing presses - specialist maybe but well worth a visit....Directions here
                                                      Link to Story.

And the Annual Commemoration...
Of the Battle of Crete is due to be held on 21st May - the day the battle commenced in 1941 and already (and with due respect) old soldiers from both Allied and Axis forces from all over the world are preparing once more to return. The New Zealand Government is offering financial assistance to returning veterans....
                                         (Item 4) Link to Story.

The Sun Shines on Crete...
Especially in Southern Rethymno - where, if we are to believe this story (and there are very few reasons not to) 'your worries will take flight'. An old story - start right away!....
                                                      Link to Story.

And maybe on the whole of Greece...
It may take a little while, given the size of the task facing Greece, but don't ever doubt, the country that brought civilization to the world in the first place may soon be bringing very much more. And it looks worth waiting just a little longer for....
                                                      Link to Story.

Certainly, the Prime Minister of Greece...
O Yiorgos Papandreou, thinks so. 'Hits' on the official Greek tourism website have exceeded two million from potential visitors, and Yiorgos wants to increase awareness of Greece as a tourist destination on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flicker and You Tube. More power to his elbow but it is as well perhaps to remember that the cost of travel is a major item....
                                                      Link to Story.
And Although 2010 arrivals...
Rose 0.6% last year - rising transport costs both in getting to Crete (and other parts of Greece) and internal travel have all risen and can increase holiday costs sharply....
                                                      Link to Story.

Which might not be the best news...
For airline operators who have requested an increase in slots at Greek airports....

Together with high petrol prices...
Especially on islands like Crete may well affect decisions about whether to holiday here, which in turn can affect the whole economy - from lost taxi fares to hotel and car hire bookings, plus the knock-on effects to food suppliers and ultimately, employment...
                                                      Link to Story.

And it may seem to be worse news for...
Athens taxis drivers as the government seeks to pass legislation to allow private firms to operate mini-van (bus) services in competition with taxi owners -more passengers, lower fares. (But is there a possibility that the taxi owners may well own mini-van companies and that after a honeymoon period all fares will rise again)...      Link to Story.

The importance of Crete...
In finding a solution to the Libyan crisis was outlined by Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas at a meeting in Berlin. Whilst stressing the need for a political solution he also stressed the availability of facilities on Crete to Nato forces...
                                                      Link to Story.

Quicklink.
From start to finish - a museum of typography on Crete - specialist interest but worthy of note. The site includes directions on how to get there ....
                                                      Link to Story.
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                    COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
All of the material produced by Cretanvista is copyright and belongs to someone who has spent time, effort and money to produce it. We are often willing to allow the use of our material for personal (non-commercial) purposes. For example our calendar photographs can be used to reproduce the pictures for your own individual calendars, or to hang on granny's bedroom wall.

We will however, take action against anyone we discover using our materials in any mass distribution exercise, especially for financial gain, unless specifically authorized by us and we are acknowledged as the source in the reproduction.
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FREE...
Cretanvista is a free site. We accept neither cash nor gratuities and sell nothing. We don't carry paid-for advertising. But we do try to give you information which you might want to know about.

Accommodation in Astratigos - For rent/Sale again....
The first house on the left as you enter Astratigos from Afrata - a large cream and green affair sporting two apartments two balconies and a small pool at the front . Live in Astratigos maybe?

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HOLIDAY VILLAS...
Another local owner has carried out some superb traditional renovations in Astratigos and has renovated what was once his own accommodation - maybe for your holidays! Book and check availability at:-
Crete-escapes.com

In Kolimbari - right on the beach near the tavernas, is:-

The Grand Bay Beach Hotel

Visit Interdynamic's website.

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http://www.provencebeyond.com/ Well worth a visit if you are interested in France, especially the southern parts.

FERRY SERVICES.
SOUDA BAY - PIRAEUS (Chania-Athens).

ANEK LINES operate daily return sailings.
Souda     -    Piraeus
21.00Hrs         05.30Hrs
Piraeus     -    Souda
21.00Hrs         05.30Hrs

Blue Star Lines operate daily sailings between Souda and Piraeus.
Souda     -    Piraeus
23.00Hrs         06.15Hrs
Piraeus     -    Souda
14.45Hrs         22.00Hrs

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHECK TIMETABLES WITH THE COMPANIES OR THEIR AGENTS.

WEBSITE LINKS

Moving to Crete? Get Sound Practical Advice for free..

'Notes on Greece' is a British Embassy publication which gives information on matters relating to Greece. Obtaining a copy first hand from the British Consulate in Iraklion (Heraklion) will ensure that you have the most recent edition - and professional contacts with up-to-date and wide ranging knowledge on matters relating to Crete. Contact the consulate via:-

:crete@british-consulate.gr

An e-mail copy is available as a Microsoft word file - a very fast email of very useful information

Very rarely one of our sites
becomes temporarily unavailable.
If you do find one missing
please be aware...
Make a note...

WWW.CRETANVISTA.CO.UK
WWW.CRETANVISTA.COM
WWW.CRETANVISTA.INFO
WWW.CRETANVISTA.EU
ALSO AT
www.cretanvistas.com

...One of our mirror sites is always available
24 hours a day 7 days a week!
Bringing the sunshine,
Keeping the rain off!

Earthquake activity:
Most recent earthquakes in Greece - LINK

Local of Note in April:

01 Apr: 6.0 ML, 16.29pm. Crete. Undersea epicentre 51 km NE Palaíkastron.
                                                                                                              Link to Story.

30 Apr: 3.0 ML, 23.29pm. Crete. Undersea epicentre 16 km SW Pírgos.
                                                                                                              Link to Story.

Although earthquakes most certainly are a common feature of life in Greece. It is however, unusual for deaths, injuries and or damage to buildings to occur, which could lead to a false sense of security.

The author of a ten year study at the National Technical University of Athens says that Greece is sitting waiting for the next major earthquake without doing anything to mitigate it's effects. (Our italics).
                                                                                                                                        Link to Report.

There are certain existing buildings considered to be at risk from major earthquakes. Link to story. These buildings, which include a number of schools, are being investigated with the objective of safety. Link to story. Engineers have also called upon the government to institute checks on old bridges in Greece. Link (Item6.)
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A Little Extra (Current) News....
Well, here we are then with edition 100 of the CretanVista website news page! And my, hasn't it been a long haul, accompanied by the so many happenings in life which go hand in hand with any project created over a period of time. Time, the one thing we never seem to have enough of. But world goes on regardless. We just hope that we have managed to add perhaps another grain of rice or two to the knowledge mountain sitting on Crete. It should have done at least that - there are more than 13,000 files and 386 folders! Take visitors a while to get through that....

Looping the loop with personalization.
One of the great 'happenings' at the moment - dominating IT news - is the growing movement of websites to personalize web searching - a growing tendency seen by some to be an invasion of privacy. The whole world and his donkey must be aware of social networking sites - which encourage the individual to supply personal data about themselves in order to join, then any data they may chose to add about other people - friends and/or family - that they may feel inclined to join/meet (or not) online. Including, of late, photographs to boot. Finger prints, Iris scans and DNA samples are more than likely being worked on! Paranoia? You bet. You can find out almost anything (even untruths) and say almost anything, about anyone, online. In public!

My question is, does it really matter?! My answer is that for me - not one jot! I don't really care who thinks that they know something about me or my life worth 'outing'. But then I am only talking about me - others of course, including you, may well object to any invasion of their privacy. They most certainly have every right to do so and have no obligation to justify their choice to anyone else....

Therein lies the crux of the current problem - choice. Individuals can only make a choice if they know that they have one - the current wave of criticism is that the internet is being used to profile people without their knowledge. A clear breach, in my humble opinion, of human rights.

Facebook, Twitter, Google, old uncle Tom Cobley and all - there must be millions on internet sites gathering personal data from their visitors - and millions more buying it. Why? In order to sell us something of course. The oldest reason in the world - money. It is much easier to sell things to people if it is known what interests us, from cradle to grave. The theory is that by watching our on-line behaviours the watchers will know what we might want (even if we don't) and have a much better chance of parting us from our money.... I don't personally care about being watched - but others might. And maybe, just maybe, we should all care....

We should all care because it is not people who are watching, it is the computers. Using algorithms (these admittedly created in the first place by people), computers are now informing their owners not only about who we are - but about who they see us as being. Inferring our motives for doing anything that the machine has observed us to do. Giving us all a machine made 'personalization'... Not really a problem you might think - if I use a search engine (for example) to find out about anything and the result is that it gives me the results I want rather than thousands that I don't then I think that that's neat, quick, and effective. But are the results what I want - or what the machine says that I want? The first option is fine, the second isn't.

What if the machine only gives me what it thinks that I want on the basis of it's numbers? If, as seems now to be becoming the case, it shows me only what it says that I want... I mean, how on earth does it know? Well, it thinks that it knows because it has watched my behaviour. Unfortunately, according to my wife and friends I am very changeable - predictably unpredictable. We probably all are, that is what makes us all individuals. All different, and all constantly changing our behaviours according to our experiences and our feelings about them. Once bitten - twice shy... Can a machine really predict how I will behave when I visit a supermarket to buy groceries. Well yes it can, and again, knowing what we all want can influence the entire store - it's size, shape, colours, aromas, prices et al, to make our visits pleasant and easier for us - making the experience pleasant helps part us from our cash. Visiting a store which was unpleasant wouldn't do that very easily. Unpleasant experiences - perhaps a store with pictures of starving, wasted, dying children, the sounds of their cries, laboured breathing, fetid breath, the smell of excrement, the buzzing of flies... Not nice, won't do that again... But we see, almost, the same things on TV daily in charity advertising and newsreels - tweaking our emotions to part us from our cash. It often works - but not at the supermarket...

But the big question is this - are we all - me , you, politicians, bankers, doctors, nurses, soldiers, sailors and the three men in a boat , all of us, behaving the way we do because we are allowing machines too much control of ourselves in the name of the god of gold?.....

Try this- answer each step:- 2x2=? 4x4=? 8x8=? 16x16=? 32x32=? Now think of a number between 5 and 12 and go here:- Link.

Kalos Ithate Stin Kriti.
WB. Cretanvista. Bringing the sunshine, keeping the rain off!
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Site Content:- Latest additions to Wildflower galleries.

Notices.

We are still undertaking our upgrade of the site. Changes here have left some pages outdated - new houses; hotels; supermarkets; roads and all. But it all takes time; please bear with us.

Contacting Cretanvista..
We have now discontinued all direct email links. You can still reach us directly using our new Contact form, and will still receive direct replies, but if you see an email address please ignore it.

Photo Galleries...
Calendar Photo Galleries:
A new one every year for the past decade! The 2010 Calendar gallery is complete and online now.. The 2009 calendar topic was 'Wild Flowers of Crete' (after our wild flower galleries) and the result was superb! Which is why we followed up the theme in 2010. And again in 2011! Because of our success we have already produced our 2012 wild flower calendar format (and our other themes continue), but of course that is not available until later in the year. But we can reprint any issue with the next year's dates - whatever year that happens to be! Have a look at the 2011 wild flowers calendar Link.

Wild Flower Gallery - Now at 360 different wild flower photographs online - plus dozens in preparation - Galleries 13 - 15 are open. 360 flowers online. Gallery 16 is developing - which will mean 384 online.. Plus we have added more reference information on redesigned pages - with more photos of each specimen to follow later. You may find an occasional duplicate, which we are keeping for the moment as the actual photographs will be different and will be used in a later planned re-organization of the galleries.

We are now well en-route to putting the first 50% of our target 1020 individual flowers on-line. But it all takes time. First find the flower (hopefully in full bloom); then get the photographs (sounds easy); put the photographs on-line (simply work); with basic information on each, making certain that it is accurate...

If you know the location of a rare flower please don't hesitate to help us photograph - we wont reveal your information to anyone else.

Please note also that All flower galleries have now been successfully re-coded to eliminate a bug which affected some Firefox browser versions. All the information will remain online at Cretanvista. With the advent of ipods, ipads, Blackberry's and other gizmos it will be much easier to take Cretanvista galleries on your field trips - and all the information that goes with them. **Your Amazon Kindle will display cretanvista perfectly.

Wildlife Gallery - the first two pages - 48 unique photographs, including some rare specimens of the Cretan fauna. Some is quite beautiful, some a bit scary/creepy, but all now add to our wildlife page and the ornithology gallery pages. Remember that it is always worth checking where you walk or sit before you do! Start here.

Chania Photo Gallery.
Our Chania photograph galleries commenced with a presentation from Klaus Dieter Thill, whose photographs of some old buildings in the area of the Venetian Harbour show a little of what we all sometimes miss. Have a look - it's worth it. Start here.

Miniature Chapels of Crete Gallery.
Klaus-Dieter Thill - author of Minaturkapellen auf Krista, a printed photo album detailing some of those enigmatic roadside shrines of Crete, has now contributed the first page of his Chania on-line gallery.

Cretan Art and crafts - Weaving pages...
Weaving is in full swing and natural dyes are being made up and the photographs taken to add to this section. We will be adding our pages on our new looms, equipment and new projects started as soon as we can. The weaving tends to take the time right now..

Our very first nature gallery...
Contributed by Anastasios Sakoulis, whose book on Cretan wildlife Moments of Cretan Nature is also on our site as a book review. Anastasios contributed 18 pictures of birds for addition to a gallery some time ago now. We will attach these to our bird-watching pages as soon as possible.

GENERAL: There are now 37 galleries featuring aspects of Cretan life, including sunrise and sunset pictures; Souda Bay War Cemetery; the gallery of magnificent wild-life pictures by Anastasios Sakoulis; our own wildlife gallery; the wild flowers; Chania; Mhlia (Milia) traditional village; etc.. etc...

Our improvements continue. We sincerely hope that you notice little - apart from increased enjoyment and ease of use. Keep visiting - your presence is what make all worthwhile.

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	Living in Crete by Carol Palioudakis OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK! Price £9.50 GBP
	Amazon.co.uk & Selected Cretan bookstores

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