Last Post of 2023.

 

As this is the last post of the year, let’s focus on positive topics in what has become a really bleak mid-winter here: harrowing reports of fatalities accidental and deliberate, illness, aggression. We need a break in more ways than one.

I’d like to share two of our little Christmas corners.

 One is our reading nook brightened up by a candle-design cloth and crystal tree.

                                                              

The other is our hearth, as yet unlit, but Hogmanay will see it ablaze. In the meantime, these seasonal poinsettias bring chromatic warmth.

                                                        

We enjoy going away for Christmas, but not to venture too far lest bad weather prevails. We returned to a place we had enjoyed last year – a hotel in Leptokargia, near Katerini.

 This year sadly for the Reveillant they had decided to forego the silver service and went for a buffet instead. This definitely lowered the tone of the meal. ☹ Silver service generally offers a reduced range of selected foods, delivered fresh to the table.  This time the turkey had got cold, one had to jostle for access to the serving tables and – worst of all – most of the sweets were cream-based so, after the scrum to cram plates to the fullest, they had been reduced to a sludgy mess – not appealing. I went instead for the traditional melomacarona sweet, steeped in honey. I adore them so this was no hardship.                                                         

Here I am sitting- in short sleeves even - in front of the hotel with the glorious Mount Olympos in the background.                                                        

We decided to drive up a little closer to it. I’m proud to say that Z has scaled its slopes and reached the summit where the final phase is a fairly sheer climb. :o

 We walked down to the Enipeas river that flows from the seat of the gods. Z can confirm that that water was ice-cold.

                                          

In contrast, the atmosphere of 16oC despite being at a fair altitude. The town of Litochoro we were visiting is 293 meters/ 961 feet above sea level.

                                      

Z, as ever, always seems to find cute animals to cater for. This local doggie wagged his tail every morning to greet this kind man who brought him breakfast treats.

                                         

And then it was time to be homeward bound. In Greece Santa does not come on December 25^th but comes in the guise of Sant Basil – same coca cola outfit !! – on December 31^st as he celebrates his name day on January 1^st. We leave our presents to be opened until then.

                                              

 We had just finished organizing how we were going to celebrate the New Year and were getting down to planning the menu. BUT Z then had to phone round our six guests to cancel – he had just tested positive for Covid! Fortunately, his symptoms are not too severe but it does seem our trip to Leptokrgia came with an unexpected value-added component!

Have a Happy Hogmanay and may 2024 smile on all of us!

My New Decoding Project

 

This is the new project I’ve embarked on: to break what is for me the impenetrable code that is written music. To be more precise, my challenge is:

1)      To be able to read these unfamiliar symbols, this foreign language,

2)      To translate it into notes     and

3)      To be able to play these notes on the keyboard.

That’s my aim – no exams to be sat, no levels to be attained, just these three abilities to some extent.

Now, when I use the particle ‘just’, I by no means wish to imply this is simple. From my eight lessons so far, I know this is certainly not the case. I am involved in complexity. So, every Thursday, I make my way to the music school Crescendo in the nearby village of Souroti, along with lotsa little ankle-biters! 😊 The school is owned by Loukia and is tastefully decorated with notes and other musical symbols, which contribute to a cheerful atmosphere.

  Here’s the welcoming outer-door design.                                                

 The 45-minute lesson comprises:

Theory – where I grapple with new symbols and concepts

Solfez - which must be the Greek equivalent of the French term solfege - which relates to the musical quality of each note     and

Keyboard practice which is self-explanatory.

 

 Here it should be noted that I’m following the course in the Greek language. I started out at least feeling a little familiar with school-day memories of where the notes were placed on the pentogram with the use of the mnemonics EGBDF (every good boy deserves favour) and FACE, for the lines and the spaces, respectively.  Alas, here the notes positions are rendered differently: do re mi fa sol la si do.  So back to square one to commit new mnemonics to memory☹ - and to refer to the good Julie Andrews from time to time.  😊

You might be wondering why at this late stage I’m taking up music. It all goes back to the time when I was working in Yemen. I had a lot of spare time on my hands and decided I would try to learn to sketch. This was a skill I yearned to develop but always thought it was way beyond me. The Art teacher in Tarbert further confirmed my doubts to be reality-based! :( But then I found this wonderful book ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ by Dr Betty Edwards. The blurb describes it as a life-changing book and for me it was. It is fascinating and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I managed to produce images I was happy with – and isn’t that all that matters? Fired up with this success I then turned my attention to music and bought a mini-electric keyboard. But I was moved to a new BC management post in Kuwait which was much more time-demanding, so that lyrical dream was shelved.                                                   

Back to the now. With the move to our new home, I have more free time and while unpacking I came across a box unopened since the 1980s. With a little bit of tinkering from an electrician friend, my long-abandoned keyboard burst into sound! :O

I tracked down the music school in a nearby village and they were ready to enrol this oldie! 😊 And things got even better. A friend of ours, hearing about my new venture, gifted me a wonderful Yamaha keyboard- he’d bought it for his daughter who showed no interest at all. It’s magic! It comes with all sorts of facilities, including an attached music stand- which kind of implies the user can actually read music. :o                                                

I started out the lessons with a friend but she decided to drop out. Kind of scary to go to my first solo lesson last week – I really need to prepare my homework very carefully now.

 I love my teacher and I enjoy the fact that I can feel I’m making progress- albeit slow. I’m actually beginning to use the left hand as well but my middle and ring fingers find it a bit hard going.

 And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time before Elton Joan emerges!

                                            

Climate Change and Sudden Chill.

 

I suspect that climate change does not seem to impinge on us much – unless you feel the desire to slap Greta as she gabbles on on-screen.

This year in Greece we have become more conscious of changes in the air – literally: increased flooding, droughts and wildfires which have already been focused on. This summer we had an extended period of hot weather - some friends have even been sea-swimming till late October – not the norm.

This meant the tourist season was extended as visitors continued to arrive here in large numbers - good news for our economy, given that tourism accounted for 18% of the Greek GDP in 2022.

Agriculture, too, which contributes to the GDP to the tune of 4% is also sensitive to such changes. Cotton is a significant crop in this sector since Greece supplies the EU with 80% of its cotton and with Greek cotton prices increasing by 82% since 2000.  

                                   

 Warm tropical temperatures are exactly what cotton thrives in and  its deep roots are more resistant than other crops to water scarcity and drought. So it is no wonder that cotton can be seen as a ‘winner of climate change’, yet in September 78% of the Thessaly cotton crop was damaged by floods while Storm Daniel was held responsible for the loss of about one fifth of the country-wide cotton crop. It is a case of win some, lose some here.

                                         

Olives are a well-established crop here and are relatively drought resistant. However, the tree goes through a dormant phase which needs colder weather to end and for new growth to be promoted. Without much cold weather last winter, producers are complaining about a drop in olive productivity.

                                           

                                              

And, of course, we cannot ignore wine production/ consumption, which is dear to the Greek heart. The ancient Greeks believed it was a gift bestowed on them by the god Dionysus. It is surprising to learn that only about 10% of the total wine produced is exported.  It must be noted, though, that the ‘home’ market is catering for the thousands of tourists who quaff at the Greek table! We’re not dipsomaniacs here – well not all of us !

Here is what a local wine producer, Gerovassiliou, in nearby Epanomi, has to say in his report on Harvest 2023:

 

Spring saw relatively low temperatures for the season, averaging around 13.5°C, leading to a delay of approximately 12 days in bud break (around March 20th). There were many rainfalls during this period, promoting plant growth but also diseases, which required immediate intervention when necessary.

                                              

These are his extensive vineyards which were saved from such diseases ‘with a lot of hard work and constant vigilance’. Home producers with limited knowledge and resources had vines which produced no fruit at all or were unable to save their plants from disease. This year in general wine production is expected to drop by 30%.

 

It is unsettling to think what lies ahead, things being so changeable. Last week we were basking in midday temperatures of around 18-20 oC. At the weekend there was a huge drop in and huge falls of snow in the north. We even had a delicate powdering on the local Hortiatis mountain.

                                                 

Hard to adjust to the sudden cold but, at least it will help us get into the festive mood and now we know it’s helping next year’s olive crop! 😊

 

Chores.

 

In my second-last post I may have given the impression, with the swing and all, that it’s a lazy life we have here – not so.

Let me give you some examples of the kinds of chores we carry out.

Since there are more of us living here now, it’s prudent to check the level of the septic tank contents.  :0 Nobody said it was all going to be clean living! That entailed quite a lot of heavy digging in clay-hard soil and opening the hatch into the tank. Then a cane was inserted to ascertain the content level – all cool! 😊 Not so cool was the day the decision was made to set fire to the garden debris, a huge pile having accumulated during the months when such activities are forbidden to avoid wildfires.

                                          

I had just happened to hang out a white washing and every now and then the wind gusts would decide to head in that direction, carrying with them blasts of hot air and particle-carrying smoke. ☹ Z ensures all is under control with no fear of fire spread.

At the same time, you can see ploughing and planting going on in the background- those are broad beans that are being sown.

But, of course, there is an upside to all these chores: the results of your effort.

Here we see the collecting of the pomegranates has been done.

                                                 

Then follows the cleaning and juicing.

                                                      

Even with an electric juicer this involves quite a lot of effort. However, we now have several litre bottles in the freezer- the juice is excellent, especially with a wee tot of gin. 😊

Next up are our quinces. For this recipe you simply scour off the fuzzy outer covering and roast them whole, skin still on, in a roasting tin with a little water. Once they have softened, you remove the inner stones, weigh the flesh and place in a large pan along with the equivalent weight of sugar.  I tend to add a little less sugar to avoid it being over-sweet and often add a little lemon juice for good measure.

                                

The hardest part of this process is stirring this mix until it thickens but without burning on the pan base. It can take quite a time and requires regular attention. Then you spread our thickened mixture onto a baking parchment-lined tray and brush the surface with a little alcohol – I use brandy – to help form a skin. You pray for good weather and leave in sunny spot to assist the drying process. After some days, when the mix is ready to peel off from the paper it’s ready to be cut, and dusted on both sides with sugar, then left to dry out a little longer.

                                                

Below, it is in its final phase, lasting for months in an air-tight container. At a festive table, I like to serve it at meal-end with a glass of port, a home-made liqueur, - or even a pomegranate gin! -  biscuits and oatcakes.

 

                                                 

 It really is worth all the effort to share your ‘creations’ with friends.

 

Decoding.

 At an early age a frustration for me was my inability to tell the time – everyone else seemed to be able to do it. It seemed to me to be the badge of grown up-ness.

                                            

The first stage was for me to identify the numbers themselves. Above you see a clock face with Arabic numerals.  Now you may not recognize them at first but you can identify their values by using both their location and your time-telling skill. Incidentally it’s quite easy to remember these numbers using my method: the number 1 has one stroke, 2 has two strokes, and so on to number 5 which unhelpfully looks like a nought. Confusingly, the number 6 looks like a seven. :O Then the numbers 7 and 8 are the same symbol inverted.  Think of a soft drink to help you here: comparing the two, you get seven-up and the other is the 8! The 9 is recognizable as such, while the zero is a dot. That’s it, you’ve got it! 😊

So we have accomplished our number recognition, but there is a further stage to be completed and that is to interpret what each number represents in terms of its relation to the passage of the hour.                                  

Helping us do just that is a clock that was formerly used for Early Learners at The British Council Teaching Centre, Thessaloniki to help them tell the time in English. I love it.

As well as coping with the numbers, I was, when living in the Arab world, obliged to come to grips with the Arabic alphabet. As with all languages, you will reach the level of competence required to meet your daily needs. Beyond that it depends on the individual drive, interest, commitment, aptitude, etc. as to how much further you will progress. So I could go to the souq, greet people and ask for foodstuffs and their prices. At work I could converse with clients to learn their personal data required for the registration procedure at the Teaching Centres in both Sana’a and in Kuwait.

 But my language was at a basic level. On occasions, I would sound out the letters forming an unknown word and Z, who grew up in an area where the local Greek dialect was imbued with imported Turkish words, could recognize what this shared cognate meant. Great team work!

                                          

Note that above, the first column is on the right as writing in Arabic is a left-to-right affair.

In my youth, when studying English Literature, I noticed that some poems would be prefaced by extracts from Greek writing that had inspired the poet. This always intrigued me and I longed to be able to unlock this code, just as I longed to tell the time.  

                              

(This is a quotation from the Nobel Prize winner, Odysseus Elytis, wondering if loneliness feels the same to everyone everywhere.)

And, of course, it was my fate to come and live in Greece. Despite having attended some lessons and having a rudimentary awareness of the language, my first encounters with the language being spoken around me were quite disturbing. Spoken Greek was an inaccessible wall of unidentifiable bricks; a sea of sound with a continuum of waves that defied being broken into semantic units.  It took me months before from that wave continuum I could identify the general topic, and it took even longer for me to understand roughly what was being said about that topic. But, oh, the joy when it begins to make sense and when you can respond, even at a simple level. Decoding and communication achieved- yay!

I regularly do crosswords and sudoku which really are forms of decoding. In sudoku you use arithmetic hypotheses to complete the grid. The crossword clues will often deliberately try to lead you off the trail, just like a good detective mystery. The solving is so satisfying. 😊

 

 For years there has been one more code that has eluded me and that I have wanted to break. I’ve just embarked on a project to learn to decode what is to me a completely opaque system.

To be continued ..........?!!?!!

To be continued ……….. ?????

Here We Are - Where Are We?

 

To echo the Great Billy Conolly, what we are saying now is ‘Well, here we are' to express a sense of arrival. The second half expresses the question many friends are asking, so here goes.

 Since we were unable to find a property that we were willing to buy, we happened upon this property in the nearby area. It is a beautiful building set in well-kept grounds and has some characteristics of the traditional Macedonian mansion. We are very fortunate in our landlord and landlady, aka as l/lordies, who live above, while we rent the ground floor of the building.

                                           

We’ve just dealt with the last packing box and our picture frames are in place. Our nesting phase is well nigh complete. I’m sitting on the patio, overlooking the vineyard, the moody Hortiatis mountain in the background. Nearby four pomegranate trees display their autumnal warmth and gladden the heart.

                                           

Recently while flicking through past pictures and felt pangs of nostalgia for our old house. Then I realized that essentially what I was missing were the good times when we’d shared meals with friends as well as the garden I enjoyed. Physical items that we loved, we brought with us. Patio furniture was an essential purchase.

                        

                          

Z has acquired a little patch of ground and has planted lettuce, onions, rocket and dill. 

 I have assumed responsibility for the rosebushes which I am delighted about.

We are, however, regularly plied with eggs, vegetables and fruit from the owners’ not-so-small holding. Our two fridges are currently groaning with their produce: grapes, pomegranates, courgettes, peppers, cucumbers aubergines and lettuce.  

 We are both very happy to potter around outside, lending a hand when required, but the beauty of life here is that we have no obligations to do anything. I guess this last picture symbolizes how I intend to use at least some of my time.

                                                      

 Life on our Macedonian ‘croft’ is good.  😊

 Stormy Weather

Greece hit the headlines in August and September due to catastrophic events of biblical proportions. Extreme heat over an extended period of time had left much of the country as one huge tinderbox and, despite regular warnings, wildfires raged throughout the country.  

                               

One of the most tragic events was the huge swathes of the Natural Habitat Dadia Forest in Evros – Z’s home area – which continued burning for two entire weeks since the sheer size and very high winds made access extremely difficult. Clearly Forestry Commissions country-wide need to drastically up their management strategies to clear forests of extraneous vegetation, to clear safety corridors within forested areas to prevent flame spread, and to ensure access for firefighters and their vehicles and equipment.

According to the UN Environment Program, both climate change and land-use change will contribute to wildfires becoming a regular feature. Even more tragic and horrifying is data provided by Earth. Org which states that 89% of wildfires occur because of irresponsible human activities e.g. lighting campfires, using malfunctioning equipment, discarding lit cigarettes and committing arson.

In the first week of September, followed the huge storm Daniel, leaving woeful destruction in its path. The National Observatory of Athens registered over 17,000 lightning strikes in its duration.                                                  

And then, of course, came the deluges of rain, particularly in the Pelion area which was hit with a fall of around 103 mm. Bridges and roads were destroyed or rendered impassable. Houses and businesses were destroyed, people remained without power, supplies and, ironically, water for days. The region of Thessaly was very badly affected: over 700 square meters were damaged in what is a significant agricultural belt. Below we see the extent of the flooding where only rooftops can be seen above the flood waters.                                               

Valiant attempts were made to rescue people stranded on their roof-tops, by boat and airlift. In all 200,000 animals are said to have perished, their decomposing bodies posing a further health hazard. The country, its people and economy are left licking their wounds for a long time to come.

                                     

And we were not without some drama, though comparatively unimportant. Early one evening neighbours sounded the alert that a nearby field was on fire and we congregated there in haste, bearing buckets, hoses and branches to keep the flames at bay.

                                             

Fortunately, the fire-fighters arrived very shortly and put the fire out. Suspiciously there was a single hay bale in the field that was burning and this was a place which had recently burst into flames. The result of a local arsenist or problems generating from the overhead electrical wires? We may never know. What was greatly disturbing was to see how quickly the flames could spread in an almost empty field and in only light winds. All too easily this could have become a conflagration putting our homes and lives at risk.                                           

 As I explained to the neighbours, as new arrivals we were hoping they would extend to us a warm welcome, but that was just a tad over the top! :o  May we all stay safe!

The Move

 We’ve just celebrated one month in the new abode. It’s been two months of intensity: sorting, clearing, packing and in intense heat. We’re extremely glad it’s over and that there are now very few items still to be extracted from packing boxes.

 It was interesting to sense the different stages of developing a sense of ‘at homeness’. The first stage was actually welcoming staying guests on day 3 of our move. :0 All credit to Melanie – niece resident in New Zealand – and her daughter, Katie, who braved our premises, and kindly turned a blind eye to mess. By then we had the basic infrastructures in place, so they were readily fed and watered but had to gingerly pick their paths to their beds! I was so pleased to learn that they placed Thessaloniki, her people and food high on their holiday ratings.

                               

The next stage was getting mechanisms in operation to give a sense of a house at work. So preparing meals, doing the laundry and an ironing made one feel more established.

A further milestone was hosting an ouzo-meze lunch for neighbours. We still haven’t got proper patio furniture but we did fine as the meal was a prolonged one! 😊 .

 This week the final stages of settling in were marked when we got our satellite tv connected and our wifi boosters in operation – the local area has a woefully weak signal.

To celebrate properly we invited our neighbours for dinner and Z was able to proudly offer them drinks from his new drinks-cabinet. He has wanted this for ages to house his rather large whisky collection.

                                 

Of course, we drank to two fine toasts:

Kaloriziko and slainte mhath - ‘may you settle in well’ and ‘to your health’!

We're Having A Heat Wave !

 

Dear friends and family from Cyprus to California, from Sheffield to New Zealand have been getting in touch to ask if we’re okay, given media attention to Greek heat wave and wildfires. 

 We are very grateful for everyone’s concern and are fortunate in that, so far, there have been no fires in our immediate area, and fortunate to have those wonderful firefighters and volunteers working tirelessly and selflessly to keep everyone safe.

 It’s also at times like these that one despairs of some fellow men. Frequently every day official announcements are made warning of fire risk, banning entrance to forest areas, etc. So a group of friends are found in a wooded area, with a barbecue going full blast, while drivers are seen chucking lit cigarettes out of car windows. :o Tragic mindsets with tragic consequences!!

As I say, fortunately no fires, but the heatwave – we got that! And it’s a case of history repeating itself. In 2000 when we moved here, it was one of the hottest months recorded.  And now, as we pack and prepare to move house – arggh – these temperatures are not conducive to heavy work, believe me! Above you can see how even in the early morning the heat is with us - there’s no cool-down time. And it’s the Real Feel that is of most concern. Z and I went shopping the other day and, returning at 5pm, what with additional asphalt and urban heat retention, our car thermometer recorded 42oC. Now that for me was what I remember on the odd occasion in Kuwait.  I have never before experienced this phenomenon in Greece. Ever.

As a linguist I am intrigued by the language used to describe these conditions: Very Hot is the common degree of heat, and we see Extreme Heat being used fairly often, but 42 is deemed Dangerous Heat. We are warned of the possible danger of dehydration and heatstroke while doing strenuous activities.

The sunshine is referred to as blazing and even sizzling- and I have certainly felt that I was a sausage being heat-basted!  Heat indicators for us: we mask up the kitchen window to prevent the morning sunshine pushing our fridge into overdrive, the door keys are hot to the touch. It looks as if I’m constantly doing the laundry, but what we have are changes of clothes out to dry off – nightie, damp; clothes used to work in, wet; swimwear, dripping.

Our cats obviously are feeling the heat and instinctively drawn to cooler places, remaining as inactive as possible. We have the a/c on … can you tell??

Like us they don’t have much of an appetite so these days breakfast consists of fingerfuls of tasty Greek yoghurt – creamy and cool.

Moving House?

 

Moving house, ain’t that strange?

 ‘Cos it’s everything else                                                                                                                               that’s involved in the change

 Of residence

Come what will, the house stays still.

Our house is a chaotic scene

Like a poorly managed campsite

You wonder will it ever be empty and clean                                                                                                 Set aright                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              We’re working flat out and the house stays still.

So much accumulation   – who knew?                                                                                                            When will we ever get through                                                                                                                        Sorting and  sifting?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The boxes we fill. The house stays still

 

 Our house had qualities elastic                                                                                                                     As for cleaning it grew and grew                                                                                                                   But when cramming with stuff                                                                                                                       It was never enough 

in size                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

For twenty-three years it was here we stayed                                                                                                 We have loved this house so dearly                                                                                                                Now the time has come, we’ve paid                                                                                                              our dues                                                                                                                                                       Sadly, we move on, but the house stays still.

 

      PS Apologies! What you see is not poetic licence, but gremlins in the alignment ! :(