CLASSES AND CLAY

We have been enjoying unbelievably warm days for January recently, which means that we've been out and about as much as possible and making the most of good winter drying days to get rugs and blankets washed after Christmas. We can see plumes of smoke from the terrace coming from the olive groves now because the olives have either been picked or are being picked and the small branches and twigs cleaned from the trees are often made into a big bonfire (which would be completely forbidden during the dry season). Friends have started their marmalade concoctions but I didn't have the heart for it this January as most of mine was made with my Dad in mind.

First of all, an idea to get a Greek conversation class started in a small village close to us a year ago almost fizzled out when all the events of last summer landed me in hospital and another keen participant lodged in the NHS system in the UK. So we turned over a new leaf and tried to initiate another go at it. A lovely young lady with perfect English and a degree from a Greek University agreed to lead the lessons and we turned up with pens and paper to try and cudgel our brains back to work. Although we had all studied Greek before, we were all glad to do a bit of revision and try to think of examples of words beginning with alpha, beta, yamma, delta and so on. There were just a few of us and it took us way longer than we thought it would, but we are all keen to move on and gain a bit more confidence. Our teacher's father had fashioned a brilliant whiteboard and she took the whole project much more seriously than we had expected. It is clear that Greek schools take work very academically!! The discipline will do us good though and our teacher is very fun loving and good natured.

This week has been a bit of a whirl with things happening every day. On Tuesday, a trip to one of the potteries at Margarites was organised so that we could learn about the history of ceramics and why Margarites is now one of the few villages left in Crete with pottery workshops of any note. We listened to how the clay was collected, where it was worked and how ceramics were fired. We were lucky that the weather was sparkling and warm, but unlucky that DAE (electric company) had dug a pit right across the road at the entry to the village and this meant quite a large diversion to reach the pottery round the corner and up the hill. In the end, we dumped the cars, stepped over the wooden crate covering the abyss and climbed up the steep hill to the pottery shop where Yiorgos and a thermos of coffee awaited us.

We were a motley crew and the first thing was to decide how to organise the day as we had planned to go and see where the local clay was collected but this was a few kilometres away and our cars were not as handy as we had hoped, Discarding this idea, we climbed up the steep road to where old stone buildings lay, largely in massive disrepair, on either side of the road. Until 1969, and the arrival of water and electricity to the village, this is where all the potters of the village had their workshops and kilns. At the same time, the containers which had been used for oil, water, foodstuffs and chimney pots were replaced by metal and plastic alternatives which spelled a very bad time for potters and many workshops were deserted and fell into disrepair. These remains are classified as archaeological places of historical interest – meaning that nobody can do anything with them. This is sad for Yiorgos who, with passionate zeal for the long history of his art form, would like to set up a working museum so that interested people could see the process in action. The circular kilns had been best preserved – a sort of stone beehive shape with two openings. One at ground level to lean into and place the pots on a slotted floor and one at a lower level beneath the floor round the corner where the wood was put into the base of the structure and stoked to keep the temperatures hot for many hours. This design of kiln was used in Minoan times and up to 50 years ago until electric kilns arrived. It was obviously very hard work for the ancient craftsmen. These days designs for ceramics are made very much for the tourist trade where souvenirs need to be transportable.

In the absence of a museum, Yiorgos did the next best thing for us and pointed out where the potters worked and we poked about in the wooded lands at the edge of the fabulous gorge where many of the old stone workshops had stood looking at the cysterns for catching water, sinks hewn out of the rock and admiring all the kilns which we would have probably walked past on our wanderings without recognising. The kilns were once fired with all the wood from around the valley and now with olive branch clippings. Yiorgos explained the firing processes and how different arrangements and inlet of oxygen to the kiln affected the chemical qualities and colour of the finished product. He showed us a clearing in the woods of land belonging to his family thronging with huge ali ba ba pots, shards, jugs and vases lying about in heaps along with roof tiles in large stacks. We all stood round large sinks for cleaning and beginning the initial preparation of the clay from the mountains. The work of collecting and cleaning the clay to remove stones and impurities was a long process and needed infinite patience.

After this we returned to his pottery workshop near the centre of the village and watched him work on the potter's wheel. None of the pieces could be thrown or worked in one day but took several jumps and rests on and off the wheel before completion, each portion a labour of love. Yiorgos' skill was amazing and as a final flourish he produced a most unusual paintbrush with ancient origin. A stick handle with a slick tail of lambswool attached with which he quickly showed how the village signature of a palm frond was done as decoration – all with a masterly flick of the odd looking brush in a matter of seconds. Amazing to watch and to absorb his passion for a craft which could easily die out, without such experts as he. We understand that he does teach at the University and are glad that more people have the benefit of his experience. Sadly, we could not thank him with a lunch at the taverna as he had another appointment, but we hoped that we have found a compromise by putting some money by at the taverna for him and his family to have a meal some time soon.

The welcoming taverna awaited us at the top of the hill with a glowing log fire and the hospitable proprietor had prepared a large selection of meze starters and platters of chicken. All our New Year diets were forgotten about and we feasted royally. It was a memorable day out and we all thought that we would have liked to try our hand on the potters wheel at a future date. Yiorgos had looked a bit apprehensive – and with good cause, I have no doubt!

Kali Chronia!