Cretanvista Site News & Reviews - July 2010 Issue 89 | |||||||
No links to sites with adult content accepted. |
JULY
WEATHER
.....
Temperatures of 30+ degrees during the day and down to about 24 at night.
Many days had a nice breeze which kept things to a tolerable level. Quite
humid, with misty low cloud some early mornings
(although I can't say I saw it myself, not being an early riser!) There
was heavy rain one day on the mainland - see news story - but not a drop fell on us here. But
let’s take a few moments to regain some kind of perspective. The
government is introducing much stricter new legislation, which is proving
unpopular among a proportion of the population who seem to have had things all
their own way for too long. For instance: Many
public officials have been used to fourteen salary payments a year instead
of twelve, and retiring on a pension equivalent to their final salary,
sometimes as early as 50. Public officials have always had a ‘job for life’ – even if they
don’t even turn up for work! This is now under review by the government,
but has led to strikes by doctors, air traffic controllers, harbour
officials, and workers in many other disciplines. As
receipts were not always issued in shops, petrol stations or by
professionals, there was no paper record of many transactions. As a
result, tax returns were a work of complete fiction. This has all changed.
Receipts must now be issued and a number of highly placed doctors, lawyers
and other professionals are being pursued for vast amounts of under-paid
tax. The government has actually seized properties in some cases. Protest
strikes have been carried out by lawyers, taxi drivers and other aggrieved
parties. The
government decided it was time to open the closed shop which has existed
in the transport industry for forty years. No new commercial licenses have
been issued in this period – they had to be handed down or sold as they
become available. This has led in the last week to a strike of truck and
tanker drivers, causing a shortage of petrol country-wide and gaps on some
supermarket shelves. But a new
month dawns, and the drivers have returned to work so there will be fuel
available for all the mainlanders to move en masse to the islands for
their traditional August holidays! Yes,
some of the strikes have been inconvenient. The petrol shortage in
particular has impacted badly on the beleaguered tourist industry as
visitors have had hire cars they cannot fill up, and hotels have had
bookings for guests who have not turned up because they cannot get to
their destinations. It would be unsurprising if those visitors decided not
to return to But up
here in our village, just back from the coast, all this fuss and bother is
a complete mystery to the locals. Very few of them have cars anyway, so a
petrol shortage has no relevance whatever when the usual mode of transport is
an elderly mule. Any shortage of food in the shops is unlikely to impact
when you have a garden full of fruit and vegetables, and a plentiful
supply of chickens, rabbits and goats. This is still the old way – the
old And
who is to say that they are not absolutely right? The
sun still shines from dawn until dusk, the sea is as clear and inviting as
ever, the beaches are beautiful, the food is good, the crime rate is
miniscule and the hoteliers will be unbelievably pleased to see you. So if
you have any holiday days or money left – come to See
you soon! Ann
and Richard |
Get This.... In the news in
July: Car repair shop explosion: One
fatality and several injuries resulted from an early morning explosion in
Heraklion.... Gun shots after argument: A family
argument in Heraklion resulted in one man shooting up a relative's
car....
That's a lot of people: The first-ever
census of public sector workers showed that the state employs nearly 1 in
every 5 workers.....
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Earthquake activity in July: Earthquakes are a
common feature of life in Greece and it is unusual for deaths, injuries
and or damage to buildings to occur. If the earthquake is below 4 on the
Richter Scale, and happens during the day, it can pass completely
unnoticed. Some English friends recently decided to replace the small and elderly table on their verandah with a new and larger one. They offered the old table to their Greek neighbours Michaelis and Eleni, but after carrying it round to their house discovered that it was too big for the Intended space. In the end our friends took the table back, threw away the fold-up legs (which were buckled), and put the top by the wall in their garden, certain it would be useful for something. An evening or two later Barry was having a quiet cigarette by the front door when he realised that the table top had gone from the garden. After discussion with Jenny, they became rather concerned that someone had come into the garden when they were both in the house, and taken it away. They assumed the worst and decided they had better take the large new table and chairs indoors every night for safety. The next day Jenny told Eleni what had happened. At first she seemed concerned, then said she would have a word with Michaelis. She noticed the new table and chairs were not on the verandah, and was concerned that they had been stolen as well, until reassured by Jenny. However, as is the usual way of things here, there was a simple explanation for it all: Michaelis's friend Nikos had found the
fold-up legs in the local bin and had taken them home for his son to mend.
He had mentioned to Michaelis that he had done so, and Michaelis realised
they were the legs for the table that Barry and Jenny had offered him and
Eleni. Considering in a very Greek way that although he did not actually
WANT the table, it was now his to dispose of as he wished, he told his
friend Nikos that the table top was still in Barry and Jenny's garden and
that he should feel free to go in and collect it. Mystery solved! ________________________________ Messages. We provide links to appropriate alternative
sources where we have them. The answers are given with the proviso
that recipients are responsible for any action taken by them. The Cretan
Vista Calendar Photos - Birds The webmaster is at: Contact Form. |
Site Content:-
Photo
Galleries...
Wildlife Gallery - So far 48
unique photographs, including some rare
specimens of the Cretan fauna. Some are 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.
|
________________________________ Bird Watchers' Please Note:
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Contact Form. |
Can this be you..... or yours... or
mine?.. This Month - ANON! |