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DECEMBER WEATHER.....
Oddly warm and sunny. Temperatures at times reaching the
low 30's centigrade in full sun on good days. But also some severely
adverse weather occurred...
Current Chania
Webcam
Current Cretan Weather
Link _____________________________
But, before PJ left - the 'A' Team arrived...
What more could he do before
departure?
Well, ...there was a final task - he would join the 'A' Team - Lindy, Pam,
Diana, June (PJ centre rear) and hold a party for themselves and the
villagers...
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Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. XI
(Continued from September - Previous
click here).
At the end the last episode...
....
We duly dispatched PJ on Anek Lines ferry Lissos... to London Victoria
Coach Station.... When he arrived and held out his arms for the
expected big hug, (from his wife) she apparently backed away
in horror, saying 'Get away, get away, you smell horribly'!
Well, he had been on a bus, toilet stops only, for four
consecutive days... Now that's magic!........... |
But then, it turned out
that Judith, his wife, relented and drove him home for a hot bath!
But before that, we couldn't let PJ depart Crete however without a party! So before he left
on the ferry to catch his Magic (Bus) carpet we organized one.
Well, I when say that we organized one that isn't even nearly the
truth. The truth being that they organized one. 'They' being,
almost unbelievably, the three secretarial staff with whom Pam and I had
worked most closely immediately before our retirement from the English NHS!
They had come to Crete for a holiday, and specifically to visit us for a
couple of days and to see our Cretan paradise - cement, bricks, stone and
dust... What they thought when they arrived we never did learn - Diana,
who was the most senior, was not too far off retirement and was the
secretary to senior staff at our old college. June - was middle aged and absolutely staid - the
middle ranked with superbly knowing smile; and Lindy - then the junior -
was in her early twenties and was undoubtedly the most flamboyant - bubbly
would not be an inaccurate description. Bubbly and blonde - Champagne! You
wouldn't get a better balanced (or more dangerous team - even from the SAS...
Our secretarial service had returned! Almost. Joining us in our 'almost'
paradise to see for themselves how we were really progressing. Both Pam and I were at once
over the moon, and at the same time terrified that we would be found
severely lacking in facilities and mental status! I mean, we had made
excellent progress, but where was the front-house roof? At the builders yard
actually, but being used to paying attention to detail they would soon
notice, without a shadow of doubt, that the builders yard was 5km away in
Kolimbari. We needed a plan to make them feel at home...
The start had to be with putting the three of them in our best accommodation
- our own bedroom! It was large enough for three - but we didn't have three
beds. Well, we did, but they were assorted, grades A to C, including one camp bed, as issued for desert
warfare - the latter from Argos in the UK! No problem - they would expect us to employ
our problem solving skills - and no doubt understand from past experience
that sometimes these were not very brilliant!
PJ was to sleep under the
stars on the balcony he had so recently finished. His previous bed (a Greek 'Kanopes'
- convertible settee) would join the single bed in our bedroom. Two down one
to go! Louise was leader of a Brownie Pack at home. She would be used to
camping - the desert warfare camp bed made three! Bingo! But who would
really get which bed?....
We needn't have worried - our ex-secretaries were as usual in command of our
mismanagement. It was obvious to them. Diana was the boss - she would get
the best bed. June was second in command - she would take the Kanopes.
Lindy being the junior (and most experienced camper), would take the desert
warfare collapsible camping bed. Now why didn't we think of that?!..
Then they organized us! The bar went up in the bottom corner of our
(roofless) front room, a scaffolding set was perfect - the boards set at
waist height became a bar full of (at that time) the cheapest bottles of
spirit, beers and soft drinks and snacks in the world... Pam's kitchen - at
that time a PJ construction of planks and 2x2 supports, bottled gas cooker
and gas lamp lighting, complete with all crockery sat in the corner of the
corridor in the rear house - complemented by an open side door,
leading to the garden and complementary barbeque. What hotel had such
facilities?...
We had a guest list - and some guests! We already had three Diana, June,
Lindy - and of course Pam and PJ - this would really be his leaving party!
Where better to hold it than in the main room that he had just completed.
Minus the roof of course... But then, I suppose that we were all staff/hosts
- we needed real guests. Which is where the villagers came in!...
To cut a long story very short, everything went superbly. Our Cretan
neighbours attended our gas and candle lit party, ate food from our gas and candle
lit kitchen-barbeque, and we all got generally very, very merry! But all good
things must pass and at the end of the evening we all retired to sleep.
To be woken almost immediately by a torch-lit commotion from the ladies'
barracks! A rustling sound had been heard (in the dark) by Diana and a
noisy panic stricken commotion ensued. We searched the ladies' room
thoroughly but found
absolutely nothing - which was explained by the impish Lindy as being
because there was nothing....
'Diana just wanted you to see her in her nightdress'!!, she grinned....
Insubordination supreme!...
Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some..
Is condensed from the book 'Pamela's House' - in current
preparation... Continued
in November... |
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In the News
Reviews...
Ninety-Seven years ago...
On 1st December 1913 Crete officially became a part of Greece when King
Constantine of Greece, and his Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos,
himself a Cretan, attended the raising of the Greek flag At the port of
Chania...
Link to Story.
Cavo Sidero...
After months of
wrangling between opponents of the project proposed by the UK based
Minoan group to build a 2500 hectare holiday complex and golf courses in
Eastern Crete, The Greek Council of State ruled the project illegal on
3rd December... (item
1)
Link to Story.
However, it may not be over yet...
Christopher
Egelton, the Minoan group Chairman issue a statement at the London Stock
Exchange on December 3rd saying that :-
"Whilst clearly the rejection of the
Government's approval of our application in its original form is a
disappointment, we are now clear as to the specific modifications
required to satisfy the Court, all of which we are happy to comply with.
This knowledge coupled with the parameters of the new Fast Track law
means that I now believe we are on the brink of bringing our project to
fruition. It will create hundreds of jobs in an area of Crete which
desperately needs and deserves them."
Mr. Egleton concluded by saying:
"First submissions under the Fast Track process
are expected to be accepted by Invest in Greece, the official body
appointed to review submissions, in mid January 2011. The process of
acceptance into the Fast Track process is prescribed by law to be no
more than 45 working days from the date of submission".
February 2011 may well bring further developments.
Link to Story.
Meanwhile...
Back in the island of Crete things seem to be running normally in
the department of lawless behaviour - or at least it would appear from
the behaviour of gunmen in Perama, Rethymnou... (item
5)
Link to Story.
And this wasn't a case of Somali Pirates...
When the captain of a ship was reported missing after docking at
Kaloi Limenes and going ashore to withdraw money with which to pay his
crew...
(item
2)
Link to Story.
Convicted protesters
cleared...
Three people who had previously been convicted of disturbing the peace
during a violent demonstration outside the Marathi Naval base in
April 2003 were cleared on appeal by a Chania court...
(item 5)
Link to Story.
And sadly, on Christmas Day...
A 26-year-old man died in a fire which had broken out in his Chania
apartment...
(item
6)
Link to Story.
Gambling pays out - to the police...
As 15 people were detained on charges of illegal gambling. The police
netted more than 8400 Euros which were believed to be the proceeds from
illegal gambling in local bars...
(item
7)
Link to Story.
And the changeable December weather...
Caused unexpected drama on the Nidas Plateau in Rethymnou in the middle
of the month, with Air Force Super Puma helicopters having to be used to
rescue seven stranded in their vehicles...
Link to Story.
So it wasn't surprising that...
The remoteness of some areas and changeable weather conditions on
Crete, led the island to be chosen as the base for a European exercise
to test preparedness in case of major earthquakes and subsequent
tsunami...
Link to Story.
Nor was it at all surprising...
To learn that the discovery of ancient archeological artifacts, in
this case stone tools found on two Cretan sites in 2010, are between
130,000 and 700,000 years old. That they are listed as among the top 10
discoveries by Archeology magazine - published by the Archeological
Institute of America.
The finds were made at Plakias, Rethymnou prefecture on Crete, site of
the oldest know civilization in the world...
Link to Story.
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