Apokoronas Our Home

You may be wondering where I have been over the last couple of days (or not - well never mind!)  On Tuesday I opened a cupboard to reach for a recipe book and before I even reached for it my back went "ping!" Those of you who suffer in the same way will know what this means. I was unable to move, to sit, to stand, to lie down. Once lying down I could not get up again! Apart form the pain and inconvenience I also missed several things I wanted to go to. One of which was the children's carnival in Georgioupolis yesterday. As I was not there I have had to rely on photos from some friends - I missed a lot of fun! A big thank you to John who stood in for me at the council office in Vrysses on Wednesday morning as I had promised to be there! I also missed yesterday evening's council meeting, but got a full update today, It was confirmed that Mr. Markakis, the current mayor, will not be standing in the next elections. I am currently planning several meetin...

Today I would like to share  the hard work of the young people of our village "Syllogos" with you. There was a need for a  place in Kalamitsi for the young people to meet and provide entertainment. The solution was to take a derelict building next to the gym in the village. Who would do the work? Well there were plenty of willing hands Several of the young people work in the building trade - or did so though now struggling for work.  Where necessary they asked other villagers for help. Luckily one of the young people is an electrician! No shortage of labourers In the nick of time the room was ready  The opening of the room was celebrated with the cutting of the "Pitta". All the villagers attended. A good time was had by all! Well done!!!

I was delighted when, as last year, I was asked to speak at a seminar organized by " ΕΛΙΑΜΕΠ" The Hellenic Foundation for European and foreign policy, in association with "Moveact" and " Europe Direct" . The subject of the seminar was:                         " Eυρωπαίοι Πολίτες και Πολιτική Συμμετοχή" "European Citizens and Political Participation"  It was a beautiful day when I arrived in Athens and walked through Syndagma square towards my hotel The fountains were playing - although just across from them there was quite a racket where a lot of the marble flooring of the square was being cut up! The seminar was held at the "  Πνευματικό Κέντρο Δήμου Αθηναίων" "Cultural Centre of Athens"      Europe Direct του Δήμου Αθηναίων      We were welcomed by, Θάνος Ντόκος, Γενικός Διευθυντής ΕΛΙΑΜΕΠ Thanos Dokos, Director General ELIAM...

Today I spent a couple of very interesting hours at the "European Sustainability Academy" in Drapanos Sharon Jackson , the director, explained how she founded the Academy and how the property was built. It is a low environmental impact building built to fit in the countryside. No trees or boulders were moved, the stones in the wall came out of the excavation for foundations. The bricks were made from the mud excavated and dried in the sun. The insulation used was  straw bales. There are facilities for seminars, conferences, workshops and courses. The participants travel from all parts of the globe.  The Academy also supports local enterprises. We had a very interesting chat about ideas for the local community. The property is also available for hire for events. Fire with back boiler for heating. For more information visit  http://eurosustainability.org

We were invited for "A glass of wine" by a friend at his house. It was last minute and we went along. Well, yes, wine was involved - but rather more than a glass! there was also salad, tsatsiki, roast meat, boiled meat, "Gardoumia" pilafi, cheese pies with honey and orange cake! We had a fun evening and Giorgios played the Laouto. Work on the square of Georgioupolis is ongoing  Work is also carrying on by the seafront but there is not much to take a photo of at the moment, just a large flat area! Another mayoral candidate has declared. Michalis Flemetakis  you can read more about him on our website here

All the bad weather reported in the UK made me think about other winters in Crete. The year of the snow and the year of the big storm which particularly hit Almyrida. In 2006 a storm and heavy rain, together with a blockage of the river combined to cause a tragedy when the water broke through the old river course and swept a number of cars away. Unfortunately a very nice man died whilst trying to help other people. There was a lot of damage done to property in the area. Ten years ago this week the island was covered in fairly heavy snow. We were snowed in our house for 4 days with no electricity or water and used the wood burning stove to melt snow water and for cooking and heating. Here are a few pictures from that time. Roughly ten years before that there was also a  snowfall. Somewhere I have a photo of that time and I will look it out. Kalamitsi Alexandrou Looking towards Georgioupolis from Rethymnon Chania  Rethym...