SPRING TONIC

Easter shop window at the Confectioners

It's Sunday morning and the birds are chirruping loudly outside in the sunshine, the swallows have returned to Crete and we can at last begin to believe that this long, hard winter is over. We have had five bouts of fearful cyclonic rain over the course of the winter months, three of which have caused major damage to roads, homes and bridges. The walls of the old stone houses close to us in our village all look washed down, dilapidated and in need of some attention.  Meanwhile, I have been around the house with my notebook listing items which need to be dealt with after a major leak in the kitchen and bathroom roof and around the window frames upstairs which poured down the walls, through the floorboards and across the floor of the living room downstairs. As all the floors at ground level are stone or tiles, leaks were easy to mop up for a few days but the house will need a lot of attention this year – mending outside and decorating inside. Lots of people have also been stricken with a horrible bout of flu too this winter and we all need a tonic to pick us back up and put some good and vital energy into us.

Anyway, we can open the shutters, start sweeping away the debris and watch with anticipation as little green shoots start to appear on what until now has seemed to be old dead wood! Our geraniums look much happier after the deluge and the Easter lily in the corner of the front yard is coming into bloom. There are an awful lot of snails though, which are being picked off our precious plants and being given flying lessons!

At the end of March, I flew to the UK for a funeral and Mother's Day in England, and enjoyed fabulously warm Spring sunshine which we had been missing further south! My feeling is that global warming is interfering with all normal weather patterns and beginning to cause havoc in many parts of the planet. Dealing with this is much more important than dreary old Brexit. As we have no chance of having our opinion heard as Brits in Europe and no control over the outcome of any beleaguered government, we are trying not to lose interest. Our visit by the British Vice Consul was helpful, the talk by the local Mayor and Chief of Police even more so as they made us feel as if all the British settlers would not be hung out to dry on their own but would still be welcome here in Crete, at any rate. Whether the governments involved sort out reciprocity of social care and health provision is not yet settled in full, but the consultation left us feeling much more hopeful. Lord, what a mess, but the Greeks still want to be friends in spite of everything!

Vinzi's Coffee Shop in Panormo opened on Friday although when we went for coffee and shopping on Saturday, there were not many people around. Panormo seems to be going through a building spree with heaps of new villas going up blocking views of the sea. I hope they know when to stop and don't spoil what was always a lovely resort. Overkill would be a great shame and even now I find high season much too busy to be enjoyable. In any event, nowhere should be short of water this summer!

Our lovely Greek classes with helpful Greek post graduates at Achlade came to an end because the ladies had eventually found paid work and couldn't spare the time any more. Sad for us, but great news and we were all happy for them. As a result of this, we have started a “Do it yourself” class at our local village Kafeneon with books from the Hellenic Bookshop (in London), which we can work through at our own pace. It is slow going, but we need to keep revising what we have previously learned because our old, slow brains need constant jogging! The bookshop said that they knew the author of the book and would love to get feedback to pass on to him, so we will be taking a photo of us at work and emailing it to him next Tuesday.

I was so upset that three parcels of knitted goods made for refugees in Lesvos, which we had hoped would be helpful in the winter just past, were returned to me and others in our group had the same experience. I feel that the Post Office may be making its own protest about the situation there which is hard for the refugees and more than costly for the locals whose tourist aspirations are suffering. Makers are having to rethink their strategy also as their Arts Cafe closed this year and we have not found another venue nearly as practical. So much change! Dealing with change seems to be par for the course at this stage of life but let's hope that it is transformative!

Best wishes for a very Happy Easter! Kalo Pasca!

*  A few days delayed in posting as we have had internet problems!