In addition to this, the villagers have been making preparations in advance of Easter so that the village was given a good cleaning, all the walls and side ways have been weeded and today a procession of people have been making their way up to the church for Good Friday services and to take flowers. The flowers will be arranged into a kind of bower on stilts which will be carried around the village in a candle light procession as the sun goes down. People have been exchanging gifts – bags of newly laid eggs, flowers, and food. Our friend Niko turned up with a bag of eggs on Thursday morning as he and K prepared to drive to Achlade – a village nearby to deliver produce to his cousin’s wife, Katina. Katina, in return gave K a large bag of mandarins and a handful of sweets which was very kind. Later on, Niko turned up at the house with a large piece of meat and some very prickly artichokes for us and it doesn’t matter how much we protest, we always have to concede!
As our fridge was already full and we had a full programme of things happening over the weekend, there was nothing for it but to put the meat straight into an oven tin and roast it on the spot while I wrestled with hot cross bun mixture. On first glance, I had thought that it was a small shoulder of lamb and had put it in the oven with onions, garlic, potatoes and rosemary but when Niko turned up an hour or so later with second piece of meat, we deduced that it was not lamb but goat. I thought that goat would be a bit like mutton in the cooking, so I hooked it out of the oven and tried to fold it into the slow cooker. I had checked every cook book I had and tried to work out whether I had globe or Jerusalem artichokes – without much help – and had thrown them in the roasting tin after a good soaking because the prickles were too deadly to do anything with. Niko had noted this poor treatment of his artichokes on his second visit and came round this morning with a plate that he had prepared earlier (with lemon and water) washed down with raki (fire water)! It was too early for me and I was befuddled. Our cup was truly running over and we will have to get more information as soon as we can. The goat casserole evolved into a mild curry and was absolutely delicious but we would be grateful for any suggestions for the second of the goat gifts. Mrs Beeton is silent on the subject and said offering will rest in the freeze box until we are in the know.
Crete has been experiencing the wettest winter and spring for many years. The locals do not seem too worried because it means that their harvests will be so much better than usual and the countryside is absolutely carpeted with the most vibrant wild flowers. The fields and hills are greener than I have ever seen them, but many business are not bothering to open up until it gets reliably warmer because it is largely a waste of time when the weather is too cold and wet to sit outside. We are expecting our friends Liz and Steve to arrive for Easter tonight and had to spend some time tidying up and then having an afternoon siesta because their plane does not get to Iraklion until past midnight. We are praying that the weather will warm up in the next day or two and they do not think they have wasted lots of money flying over while there is a heat wave in England!
On Saturday, we took them to Panormo to show them around our nearest swimming beach. As we left the little town, we were anxious to see a crowd of young people gathered around an unconscious figure on the ground. After a few seconds, we realised that they were making a “Guy” for the huge bonfire that would be held in the evening. The Saturday before Easter Day is when Judas Iscariot is put on the bonfire and fire crackers and loud explosive fireworks set off … (any excuse!) We came back later for the big fire constructed from all the olive wood prunings and despite feeling that it seemed a bit medieval, made the most of the spectacle from a distance!
KALLO PASCA – HAPPY EASTER – from Crete!
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