Cretan Vista Site News Archive October 2010

Cretanvista Site News & Reviews - October 2010 Issue 93

No links to sites with adult content accepted.

OCTOBER WEATHER ..... Often sunny, warm and humid. Broken by some very heavy storms - mainly at night, and sometimes seriously windy. Winter is approaching, but relatively mildly...

  Current Chania Webcam             Current Cretan Weather Link
          _____________________________

                                     PJ Prevaricates...

What more could he do before departure? Well, ...a set of outdoor steps from the rear garden to the balcony ... A balcony wall. And a rear patio.... His wife wanted him back - he was afraid of flying!
Place cursor on/off image

_____________________________

Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. X
(Continued from September - Previous click here).

At the end the last episode...
.... But the day came, as PJ was desperately struggling with the archway key-stone (around 35Kilos) that Yiannis had to be temporarily silenced... 'SHUT UP! I practically bellowed at Yiannis, our friend, our mentor, our doctor, lay head of the church, acknowledged head of the village, undoubted WWII warrior, 'SIT DOWN!'

The following, instantaneous silence was very, very silent...........

.....Yiannis, whose sincerely and much valued friendship I had just put on the line, so to speak, looked at me bleakly and in complete silence for a few seconds. One of those 'few seconds' when the world holds it's breath. Then, unable to contain himself his face dissolved into a huge grin as chuckling 'Phonasei', 'phonasie', 'Ponocephalo' (your shout - my headache!)as if to himself he stumped his way across the small courtyard with his stick and sat himself down. On a plastic chair which we had placed under a partially rebuilt stone Venetian arched doorway. The chair had been placed there to stop anyone getting under the unfinished arch - held together by nothing more than it's own lack of momentum!!

We all froze again, wondering if Yiannis would bring about his own crushing end by prodding the arch with his walking stick.. There is a definite limit to the length of time that one can remain breathless without expiring this life. I reached mine and breathed out 'Dear God!' - not only had I (I thought) lost a friend, but now he would become 'gone' in more than the metaphorical sense. And what about his wife, in no way timid, and his son - definitely a Cretan warrior, would they seek retribution?...
'O Theos' said Yiannis, and mimicking my English accent perfectly - 'Dear God' - 'O Theos'! 'Jesus' I breathed to PJ 'what do we do'? PJ looked calmly across at the smiling Yiannis, about to become newly dead, and said 'Nothing'. Then, as Yiannis gently poked the arch beneath which he sat with his walking stick he mimicked PJ - 'Nothing'. And both burst out laughing, looking directly at me. Yianni's eyes seemed to say, for someone who shouts a lot you don't seem to have much to say'! The joke seemed definitely to be on me...

'The doorway arch - the side pieces are really counterbalanced' said PJ - 'they can stand there without the middle section - which is really a key-stone. It would take an earthquake to knock it down'.... There was more laughter from both 'Masons'.

I had perhaps learned my lesson - never trust a stone-mason - even a retired one! But the original tension which had started the exchanges was all gone. A few minutes later the key-stone of the main Venetian arch was in place and that would not fall down either. Until, I thought, with a severe lack of charity equaling at least Charles Dicken's 'Scrooge' before his visitation by the ghost of Christmas past, until we knock out the supporting former and it all falls down again - hopefully killing every laughing stone mason in the vicinity!

Vindictive? Who, me?.....

But then it was a strict case of onwards. The archways were complete, the structural work around them was moving rapidly to completion. The front-house was almost ready to receive it's roof. PJ was preparing to finish all outstanding jobs and start his trip back to his wife and family in the UK. Our dream in the sunshine seemed to us very close to completion? What more could he do before departure?

Well, he could build a set of outdoor steps from the rear garden to the balcony - there was just enough material left for that. And a balcony wall. And a rear garden patio.... So on he worked. There was also another reason that he was seeking other jobs. Our intrepid builder was prevaricating! Dodging an issue...

Whilst we could have him back on UK soil within or at least in around three and a half to four hours after leaving Chania - by my own very favourite mode of transport - the aeroplane - he was having none of it! He was staying, he said, very firmly on terra-firma! He was seriously afraid of flying. Given that we were on an island this was a difficulty. But it wasn't the end, PJ had traveled to Crete with us by ferry and car - he was not averse to ferries. But he didn't have a car.

OK, he would have to stay here! His wife put that one out to grass very smartly. She wanted her husband back. Promptly. Now. All we needed now was a magic carpet. Maybe we could find a magic lamp and rustle up a Genie....

We managed to find an almost unbelievably straight-forward solution. Not quite a magic carpet, but a 'Magic Bus'. We discovered that this heaven-sent solution ran from Athens to London Victoria coach station - it took four days, but didn't apparently leave the ground even once...

We duly dispatched PJ on Anek Lines ferry Lissos to Athens, where he caught the 'Magic Bus' which (almost) magic carpeted him across Europe to London Victoria Coach Station, and the impatiently waiting arms of his wife. When he arrived and held out his arms for the expected big hug, 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!

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

In the News Reviews...
The serious mugging...
Of a 60-year-old jewelry salesman, who was shot twice in the stomach when he resisted two muggers attempting to snatch cases containing jewelry he was carrying as he arrived at his Chania home. He underwent surgery at Chania hospital and remained on the critical list at the time of the report. His attackers remained at large...                         (item 4) Link to Story.

New airport tenders winner...
The winning tender for the estimated 1.3 billion euro airport to be built at Kastelli, north eastern Crete was deferred form it's original deadline date of October 19th. A government spokesman cited environmental and radar issues for the delay...                         (item 3) Link to Story.

Cretan police...
Attempting, not for the first time, to check on a motorist in Anogia, described as a 'notoriously lawless' part of the Mylopotamos region, were once again thwarted when he summoned other residents. Approximately 30 people surrounded the police. The man was later arrested on charges of resisting authority...
                                                Link to Story.

And again Anogia...
Became the center of police activity when the issued an amber alert for an 11-year-old boy who was reported missing. He was later found safe and sound in Patra...     (item 3) Link to Story.

A motorist died...
When he apparently drove his vehicle off the road into a ravine near Krousonas in the prefecture of Iraklio in an accident...
                                    (item 7) Link to Story.

A rape investigation...
Was commenced by police in Chania, after a 15-year-old girl alleged to police that she had been raped by a 16-year-old boy during a break period at a local school...         (item 6) Link to Story.

Briton released on bail...
22-year-old Luke Walker, arrested in May accused of causing fatal bodily injuries to his girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman. Mr Walker denies the charges. Bail was set at 15,000 euros pending trial...              (item 3) Link to Story.

Previous Report

Death of a British woman in Malia...
Chelsea Hyndman, hospitalized on Crete after allegedly being beaten by her boyfriend Luke Walker while in Malia, (both unnamed at the time of the original report), died of her injuries after suffering an infection provoked by internal bleeding. Luke Walker was detained by police for questioning... Link to Story

Cretan cannabis plantation...
The discovery of a cannabis plantation on Crete is not really news when one realizes that it is possible to buy cannabis with a Cretan trademark in Amsterdam. In the latest police raid, this time in the Selino prefecture, police netted 700 cannabis plants and 3390 grams of Hash.

They also confiscated a cartridge and 27 bullets - after exchanging gunfire with the suspected villains, who made off during the confusion...
                                                 Link to Story.

But some Greek islands...
Actually grow peace, not war! The island of Santorini, famous in it's own right for just being Santorini - also grow split-peas, which are used on the island to make 'Fava'. Split pea puree..

Then Santorini version of Fava has now been recognised by the EU, and placed on it's list of ''protected designations of origin'. Bravo Santorini!                      (item 2) Link to Story.

And, according to an Ekathimerini headline...
'Greek men are mommy's boys'.... This article lays out a case for proving that the Greek male stereotype - 'lives at home until a worryingly advanced age... relies on his mother to do all the cooking and cleaning... might be accurate'..

What else are they supposed to do, watch football?                                     Link to Story.

They probably can't go shopping...
At least if the port district of Piraeus, Athens, is setting the standard. Burdened by the financial crisis dozens of stores have been forced into closure in the last few months. ICAP research found that 200 enterprises went bankrupt in Greece in the first six months of the year, and at least another 1000 sought protection from their lenders and suppliers...       Link to Story.

And the money laundering market...
Although apparently booming to the tune of 5 billion euros per year probably has few vacancies... No, stay home with mum for now!
                                                 Link to Story.
                     _________________

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.
_________________

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?

.

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.

______________

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 in October:
Although the main reports here refer to Greece, following the devastating Haiti earthquake in January, February brought a second devastation, this time to Chile (Read wikipedia Summary). March brought a third 'quake, this time with a magnitude of 6.0 Richter to the Basyurt area of eastern Turkey, killing 42 villagers and injuring at least 60 on March 8th - USGS report.

In October there were four earthquakes of note affecting Crete.

03 Oct: 5.4 Richter Scale, 6.20pm. Crete. Undersea epicentre off the south- eastern coast of the
             island.
                                                                                                               (item 2) Link to Story.

09 Oct: 4.3 Richter Scale, 10.00pm. Xylokastro. Peloponnes coast between Corinth and Patra.
                                                                                                               (item 3) Link to Story.

26 Oct: 2.4 Richter Scale, 22.49pm. Crete. 9Km NE of Kolimbari.
                                                                                                                            Link to Story.

27 Oct: 2.1 Richter Scale, 22.49pm. Crete. 38Km SW of Paliochora.
                                                                                                                            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.)
                                 _______________________________

A Little Extra News....
Regularly late on - but on this occasion so late that it is almost back to the future! It would be so nice to be able to get everything done on time, but as anyone who has lived on Crete for any length of time will tell you, your plans for today are not even nearly what actually happens. Not, we hope, that it matters too much as it really is the a case of never mind the width, feel the quality! Although there is plenty of both here on Cretanvista.

One of the more recent happenings here in Astratigos concerns an old ruined house in our small corner of this quiet working village. Falling, year on year, further into decay this ancient Venetian structure had already suffered the loss of two superb stone-built arches and a good part of the structure when the then owner had had to demolish a part in order to keep the structure, bordered by a village pathway, safe. And to prevent the remaining standing part from following the same fate.

Like many Greek properties it had adjoining areas owned by the descendants of original villagers, some of whom have renovated or built other properties in the village, although they now live in Athens. Like most Cretans they still maintain their roots and revisit often, so they are known and contactable if one knows the correct families in the village.

The property, was, to my simple mind, practically unsaleable, especially without the bordering pieces of land. It seemed destined to follow the houses in so many Cretan villages and sag and sag until it eventually fell down. Such events are not unusual in Greece where properties become uninhabited with the demise of parents whose children have long-since left on a permanent basis. They are often left to subsequent generations, who become several. To buy one needs the consent of all. More often than not almost impossible to obtain. But lo and behold, this one had an English owner who had long since managed the impossible and managed a purchase.

Having done so he apparently changed his plans and a few years later sold to an English lady, who having decided that she was not going to renovate, sold it on to a second English woman who has grasped the nettle, put her money on the table and commenced the renovation, obstacles or no...

The renovation is now into it's third week and consisted until now mainly of knocking down parts that need rebuilding, digging out and removing tons of rubble and rubbish. Two weeks or so into the project the old house looks, from where we sit, like an old ruin. Now minus it's rear wall and its roof! The previous barn-owl, residents of the empty shell moved on, most likely to another empty shell in the village. They have lived here for as long as we have been here, simply moving when another house is renovated - which isn't often!

Having been through this process ourselves we watch with bated breath as our new neighbour and her daughter hit almost the same problems as we did, and even with whatever hindsight we can offer, she still has to overcome the problems herself. She is doing so admirably so far. Readers can see some of our project in our 'Village Life - Getting some..' in the centre column above - share the excitement of dodging around the pitfalls.

This project is a lifetime away from the UK TV programmes seeking to find people a place in the sun. This is about the real-life renovation of a very old Venetian house ruin into a modern dwelling - which will be a credit to it's new owner and to the village...

Kalos Ithate Stin Kriti.
WB. Cretanvista. Bringing the sunshine, keeping the rain off!
                                     ________________________________
Messages.
We receive some brilliant messages - really - and they are very welcome. We will ALWAYS reply so please, if you have sent a message and not received an answer - resend the message - we either didn't get it or have somehow overlooked it. Our response time is usually within 48 hours.

Personal Information..
We have been asked in the past to help locate people. We would love to be able to assist but regret that are unable to do this.

Questions and Answers..
Quite a lot of questions are received here at Cretanvista and, as with e-mails and other forms of communication, we do our best to supply valid answers. We never respond "Off the Top of our Heads" but always research the answer - even if we already have one (things change) before passing the information on.

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.
________________________________

Site Content:- No change this month.

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. Because of our success we have already produced our 2011 wild flower calendar format (and our other themes continue). But we can reprint any issue with next year's dates - whatever year that happens to be! Have a look at the 2010 wild flowers calendar Link.

Wild Flower Gallery - Now at 240 different wild flower photographs online - plus dozens in preparation - Galleries 13 - 15 are not far from uploading... 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.

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 20 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.

________________________________

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

________________________________

UK Nursing History - Schools of Nursing
Readers who have any interest in the history of the UK nursing profession might well be interested in looking at:-

www.schoolsofnursing.co.uk

There is a main site detailing every pre-university school of nursing, the hospitals used for training and badge awarded.
A forum covering all aspects of nursing history
A 'National' nursing badge collection containing more than 2000 photographs.
Badges, nurses, hospitals et al
Web space for your own nursing related photographs.
*Membership is Free
*Membership is necessary to use the forum and photograph Gallery areas.

Related Sites - also free.
'nursingbadges
historyofhospitals

________________________________