YES or NO!

Facebook is simply bursting with links to TV interviews, speeches, twitters and blogs about the forthcoming referendum for the Greek people to decide whether they want to say Yes – to more years of austerity, and hard times or No and cast away the suggested proposals and protection of the EU and try to function alone with a vastly devalued currency.

In other words, Greece is perched between a rock and a hard place. None of the options are likely to solve the problem which – as most people will have gathered by now – has all to do with a monetary system which bears no relationship with reality. It is as if we are all in some bizarre symbolic version of Monopoly Wars with nations raising unimaginable quantities of banknotes based on no security whatsoever. I have to keep reminding ourselves that there is still food growing, bread in the shops and tourists largely unaffected by the drama of what is going on in people's lives. In addition, Crete is less affected by the austerity measures than the mainland because crops are still growing, tourists are still enjoying themselves and our Cretan friends with their rich Minoan history and tradition live close to their land and smallholdings. They do not suffer quite as much as the many others who left the villages, went to University, trained for professions and now find that these are the first people to find their urban lives so harshly affected. We have asked all our local friends about it. Niko at the Pharmacy says that for a short while it will be difficult, but he is optimistic. K now has to pay for his prescriptions in advance, while supply lines are shaky. Marina at the Cafe in Panormo says, “We don't want any more austerity but so long as we have barley rusks, tomatoes, olive oil and feta, we will survive OK”. Kimon's mates at the village Kafeneon talk about it constantly and nobody can really decide how to get out of this impasse.

Lots of graphs and economic explanations tell us that of all the bail out money received, only a small fraction of it actually helps anyone in Greece since it is paid back in interest to big banks in Germany and France and many other countries, including the UK before anything is available centrally. If you can believe statistics. Others raise the historical issue of the Bank of Greece's cancellation of a large debt owed by Germany after the second world war when things were bad and Germany was in the process of rebuilding the country. By Tuesday, there was so much divisive stuff that I turned the computer off in the end; none of this was helpful but it did launch me into a Utopian daydream about all countries around the world cancelling each others' debts and what the answers on the balance sheets would be in … Cloud Cuckoo Land.

It seems that Europe needs to work out what its priorities are and whether unity and security can be sustained under an economic system which, in spite of so many rules and regulations, manages to penalise the poor while the rich have all the aces to take evasive action. Do we really want to perpetuate a system of growth and inflation if the majority have a poor quality of life, in spite of what their bank balance tells them? I think quite a few people across the world admire Greece for getting people to stop and think about it.

Most of us expats do not have a vote either in our home countries or here in our country of residence, which is just as well as we have no idea how to solve the problem. We had a couple of days this week where there were some petrol supply blips and the banks have been closed, but in truth everyone we know kept minimal money in their Greek banks for some time now. This has all been going on for so long and in spite of pensions cuts, masses of extra taxes raised and austerity, Greece seems to be more indebted than ever.

Kimon was discussing the news with our friend Vassilis in Bali and they both said how sad they were that now we had to lock our houses each day when we went out and how times were changing. Worry did not stop Vassilis and Katerina from giving us a huge bag of oranges to take away with us from their trees. Kostas at the shop heard that I had learned how to make Kolokithiakeftedes – courgette rissoles - (delicious) and so cut half a dozen beauties from his kitchen garden for me to cook with. He refused to let K pay for them!

There is no price on love, care or friendship and fortunately, no rationing of that! None of this has spoiled the holiday of our son Leo and his friends who have been with us here in Crete this week.

The most moving photo from Facebook was a queue of people – not at the cash machine or at the garage but queuing up outside a church to light prayer candles. At last, we have realised that only God can sort this one out!

 

INVASIONS ….

Yassus from the blistering heat of Crete. The clouds seem to have disappeared from the mountain ranges and the snow on the peaks is getting quite sparse now. After such a winter and spring though, there is much more lush green than usual and the roadsides still have a few bunches of coloured wild flowers until the heat finishes them off and it is all burnt ochre and dried grass again.

The Croziers have been out and about, partied a bit, explored the weekly new fish and chips option available on Wednesdays in Panormo set up by a local taverna who had to move and wanted to encourage business at his new venue.

We have met lots of people at Vinzi's Cafe up on the battlement clifftop in Panormo. Loads of tourists, ex pats (why so many from Yorkshire, we ask?) relatives and friends visiting from home and soaking up the sun for their short week and wondering whether they could find a way to stay for longer! It is great to catch up and practice our dodgy Greek but our memories do not retain new words for long. Fortunately discussion of the weather and the state of the roads seems to be sufficient for day to day purposes!

The village school broke up for the summer last Friday night and had a big concert, barbecue and prize giving in the village square. K went for a while to listen to the music and have a chat with people but I stayed in the cool at home, out of the range of mosquitoes! It seemed to be a jolly party and nice that all the village is involved. Schools broken up means much more sound of children's voices round and about and strings of youngsters lining up to jump off the end of the harbour wall in Panormo. I like it - and all the children are personable, polite and look after one another, whatever age they are. It is so good to see. Even the youngest of the school kids want to practice their English and (giggling to each other) say 'Hello' and 'Goodbye'.

On Saturday, our dear friend Angeliki from the Kafeneon turned up at the door really early and presented us with eight lovely eggs. Wonderful. I decided to make some Oaty Raisin Cookies to say “thank you”. So I put the new kitchen and various gadgets to use and whipped up some cookie dough. As soon as they were golden brown and cooled enough, I took her a plate round. After two minutes she returned with two more boiled eggs! I really cannot get used to the fact that Angeliki and Kostas do not like to be thanked for anything! Anyway, I tried.

“Afta ta cookies enai yia na po efharisto yia tis omorfes afga”

Two of us made the road trip to Church in Kefala on Sunday and, as we had a margin of extra time, took the old road from Rethymnon to Chania which takes in a few delightful villages and beautiful countryside. We emerged just at the turning for Georgopoli and continued from there arriving in good time for the service to begin. The journey there and back is a great chance to chat and catch up, so it was a good morning from all points of view.

Niko-the-Wood managed to get his tyre fixed at the garage in Perama after his wood delivery (see previous blog) and has been seen driving back and forth past the house with wood, tools and sheaves of bamboo. Eventually K pieced together the information he had been gathering and realised that Niko is building one of the roadside booths which spring up about this time every year. We often wonder why the villagers plant so many melons when they end up having to give them away, so this is a new innovation for him. Anyway, he needed to borrow our step ladder to finish the work on his new shop, so we will take a photo when we next drive past. We sampled this year's vintage of melon at a lovely party last Saturday both pink water melon and the yellow piponi variety which were fabulous – cool, sweet, juicy and irresistible.

The sea is now wonderful for swimming and indeed it is hard to get through the heat of each day without stopping for a dip at some point. Kimon has taken his first swim for two years. It took a bit of manoeuvring but we got to and from a beach chair without too much difficulty and had a nice quiet morning before the lunch crowd turned up and the beaches were jam packed when we made a smart getaway.

Nationally, Greece approaches yet another deadline for repaying of ECF loans. We cannot predict how all this is going to play out and it has all been going on for so long now. It's hardly surprising that markets have got the jitters and youngsters are disillusioned with no prospect of work. Pensions have been cut already, unemployment is very high. It seems that many young people are at home and extended families are reliant on pensions of the older generation to survive as there is no other income. Locals are concerned that foreigners think that they will not have the amenities they need for a good holiday and there will be no cash in the cash machines. There have been no problems of any kind for us so far and the businesses are all as good as ever and our hosts as warm and welcoming. Then on Friday we received a phone call from a friend who had been contacted to say that all Greek cash machines were being shut down from Friday and banks would close over the weekend and on Monday. We phoned all our friends in case they were short of cash. Shortly after this, we were contacted by the UK Overseas Pensions Office to check on our contact details. Immediately on the alert, I asked a few searching questions … what did he know that we didn't know? In the meantime we have seen photos of people withdrawing cash from machines after the deadline without any problems at all. We wonder where all this scaremongering is coming from. We hope it is not from the British Press approaching the not-much-happening-in-world-so-lets-make-it-up-silly-season. People in our village are not at all worried and Nikos' Melon Stall is full of fabulous home grown produce fresh from the fields. Everyone we meet is enjoying a wonderful holiday. No-one here wants to leave Europe or thinks that it will happen. Hoping that I am not recording "Famous Last Words", let us hope that there is some equitable way out of this confusion.

.VISITORS FROM NZ AND IMBROS GORGE VENTURE

 We have been busy with heaps of happenings in the past week here in summery Crete. We had been preparing to meet the in-laws of our daughter Kate (all currently living in New Zealand). Marty and Pauline had embarked on a trip of a lifetime to take their long awaited overseas experience and the chance to see as much of Europe as possible. They chose a cruise which came to Crete so they could see for themselves where New Zealanders who fought in the WWII Battle of Crete would have been. They both had relatives and family friends who had served in Crete during the war so this was a very special time for them.

People from abroad always ask for our address – well you would, wouldn't you? But in our village, there are no street names or house numbers so we decided to wait in the Square opposite the school.

We had proposed lunch at our place not having any idea of their schedule. Pauline had said “Don't go to any trouble”, but in truth, we needed to smarten ourselves up a bit. All our porch walls were looking horrid after the new roof works, the muddy woodpile and winter rains. Embarrassingly, the bathroom ceiling had suspicious evidence of a few spots of mould and we didn't want to look too shabby. So lots of painting and cleaning went on over the weekend and cooking for an ad hoc instantly available meal. Our bathroom and kitchen positively sparkled while all the mops and buckets sagged against the garden wall looking weary and beaten after the full frontal attack.

The weekend weather was a lot better than the previous few days and on Monday all the clouds and mists cleared up to produce a fabulous Spring Day for them. We waited in the village square as prearranged and the taxi turned up about half an hour late giving us a bare 35 minutes or so to walk back to the house, catch up on their news, eat the quickest chicken salad in history and guzzle a cup of tea and walk back to the square again to meet up with the taxi. There had been a muddle at the port office, the taxi driver had been waiting in the wrong place and had wasted two valuable hours of their precious day. Anyway, they loved what they saw, got to Souda and Marty even started asking about real estate prices in Crete just before they left! We heard later that they arrived back at the ship just as the gang planks were being raised … Phew! It was lovely to see them even for such a short time!

Tuesday was an Art School day, but our numbers are a bit depleted and we wondered about a drive to find some new students. Anyway, I had a delicious morning out in the sunshine under my hat painting one of my favourite corners outside and trying to get acrylics right before the sun dried them quickly on my palette.

On Wednesday, a group of us had planned a walk down the Imbros Gorge before the weather became too hot and dry. There are usually a few weeks at the beginning and end of the season when the rains have ceased and before the sun does not roast you too much. We all took sensible precautions and set off as early as possible. Hats, Water bottles, stout shoes, walking poles and back packs on board, we set off looking very chipper. Gorge walking seems to be quite a big tourist industry and there are places where you can call for a taxi at the bottom of the gorges (or catch a boat in the case of the Samaria which ends where there is no road access) so having left most cars at the bottom, driven all the drivers to the top and leaving one car at the top, we were at last ready to set off. The approach is down a set of steps with a rather wobbly hand rail and I wondered if it would get any easier once we were down at the bottom of these. As Gorges go, Imbros is supposed to be one of the easier to tackle – especially compared with the Samaria. It is about 8 km long, has lots of interesting mini climates and habitats on the way through. The whole walk is downhill, which seems easy but after a long winding hike over largish boulders and slippery rocks and scree, my hips and knees were creaking a bit. At one shady spot, we sat for a rest under some trees and I ventured to ask “Are we nearly there yet?”. We were, apparently after a couple of hours at our slow pace, only half way. (Inward groan!). However, the plant life, trees and birds were magical and overhanging cave-like arches, whole streams of ancient lava-type rock under foot and parts where you did feel as if you were climbing down waterfalls (which I suspect is the case in the winter wet months) made it an ambitious outing for someone who has been at home and not doing very much other than housework and painting for a longish time. My feet survived well, aching all over at the finish (but no blisters) and the narrow gorge opened out just a short drive from Hora Sfakion where we sat down to a very late lunch and chose a taverna which had the best shelter from the wind.  It was a beautiful day;  I was glad to have experienced the atmosphere of the gorge but it is anything but a stroll in the country!

On Thursday, I could hardly get around the house as my legs were so stiff and took a quiet day to rest a bit. The daily round since the Imbros walk has been a bit more domesticated but --- the eternity ring which I thought I had lost in the icy cold sea at Matala, turned up magically in such an unexpected spot, tucked behind a down pipe by the stone stairs outside and I am rejoicing. Yippee!

RATHER A LOT TO EAT …

Domestic chores have not been any sort of antidote to all the partying of the past week or two. Lots of cooking; lots of cleaning but an elephant's sufficiency for eating too. Day by day we have been preparing to receive visitors who are arriving in Crete via cruise ships and there has been a lot to do inside and outside the house before they get here - in between lots and lots of eating out.

At the weekend, we had the Annual CIC Red Cross Coffee Morning, which was a tricky occasion for our friend Ev since it was the first year that Bob had not been taking the stage. Bob was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer soon after last year's coffee morning and nobody could believe how quickly the disease had taken him away from us. So with extra efforts we had all been cooking our socks off and tables at Camping Elizabeth were groaning with all the goodies which had been prepared. All our 10 euros entrance fees and donated raffle prizes made a good show and we raised in the region of 1200 euros for the Red Cross and Samaritans. It was so good to know that we could still do a good job, even without Bob at the helm and Ev carried off all the compere-ing with great aplomb – she was quite amazing. Despite the strong sunshine, it was still not quite warm enough to go swimming in the sea yet (and we were all a bit full of cake).

All the plants have been blooming upstairs and downstairs and we have enjoyed the improving weather with gusto. I took a trip to a large house-ware shop with our friends the Brods and their friends last week. The weather forecast had not been good for that day, so we all had umbrellas and raincoats just in case and stopped at the Brods' favourite roadhouse for hot chocolates and coffees halfway there. The store was brilliant with lots of great furniture, kitchen ware and just the kitchen stools I had been looking for – sadly in flat pack form but hey ho – so I bought two and we abandoned our idea of touring Chania because the weather was windy and wet. Stopping at Cretan Corner on the way home, we shared a lovely meal together and I was glad to get to a place that I had heard of many times but never visited before. The lady proprietor was English married to a Greek man and they had a very nice taverna in a village called Aptera. On a good day, the view would have been wonderful but … it was not a good day for landscapes. When I arrived home K said there had been an almighty thunderstorm in Skepasti and flooding in various parts of Crete.

On Wednesday, we set off for Heraklion having booked an overnight stay in a hotel in the centre. We killed two birds with one stone by dropping off K's large envelope containing the MRI scan films (sheets of them) for the Oncology Department at the University Hospital. Sneekily, we parked in the hospital car park and hailed a taxi from outside the door to the centre of the city since the traffic is always so very busy and we were not sure where we were heading for.

The hotel turned out to be very comfortable, modern and reasonably close to the shopping centre and large Lions Fountain. The centre was full of tourists and students and the atmosphere was lively, however trying to get cash from an ATM was not straightforward and lots of the machines had run out of money. We hear news reports that national loan payments are being made with difficulty and that local authorities are being asked to donate their education budgets to help the national government pay their dues. This is all very confusing because everywhere hotels and businesses have been modernised and look very prosperous, every road on the island, however remote, seems to have been channelled out to receive fibre optic cables (even around the mountain tops), so we can't work out easily the true state of things.  It seems best to take it one day at a time.

Anyway, after this digression, and back in Heraklion we got up early on Thursday, took full advantage of a sumptuous buffet breakfast (!) and took a taxi to the port where all the security staff had been alerted about our arrival.   We were to visit our nephew Kieran who has recently started cadet training with merchant navy and is doing his first stint at sea on the Star Pride of the Windstar Cruises group. We had been reminding each other “not to forget the chocolate” for several days since he said that it was the only thing that he needed and we had bought a small cold bag, stocked up with a few lots of tuck to keep body and soul together! The ship was very smart, he looked happy and busy. We had a bit of a wait while the crew needed to do a fire drill and life boat drill as part of their port inspection. Bells were going, hooters sounding and all sorts of personnel were involved doing lots of different things. We sat in a plush lounge watching the sea, reading a wonderful collection of atlases and books and being plied with coffee and soft drinks while all this was going on. Yes, I could quite imagine myself enjoying a nice cruise (probably beyond our pockets, sadly) and K was happy talking about marine engines and other nautical things while I enjoyed looking about me. Eventually, Kieran appeared again and was given time off and we jumped in a taxi to the centre of town and found a good place to have a slap up Greek meal! The ship had come from Piraeus and the Pelopponese and would be off to Santorini, Rhodes and Istanbul after Crete. I did my usual trick of falling over (dodgy Greek steps) and disappeared out of the shop and on to the pavement – fortunately not breaking anything. We stocked up on souvenirs, and made sure that Kieran got back to his ship in good time – the taxi driver gave him an enormous fresh orange as he got out of the car. A souvenir shop lady had given him a free gift fridge magnet.  He was overcome by everyone's friendliness. I am horrified at how quickly I have begun to take the overwhelming hospitality for granted. And on Friday, we went to a lunchtime birthday party and ate more cake!!! Any suggestions for diet plans gratefully received since all our good resolutions are falling by the wayside.

We have two more cruise visitors due on Monday at our house. We have been trailing them on Facebook through Italy, the Aegean and Greece and will hear more about their adventures for the next blog.

A SPRING IN OUR STEP

K could not believe how much stuff was loaded into the back of the car for just three days away, but what with walking poles, crutches, a picnic bag full of tea bags and kettle for our morning cuppa plus swimming stuff and clothes, we were full to capacity. This was for the CIC Archaeological trip to Agia Triada. We had decided to stay at the resort of Matala where the beach side caves had been homes for hippies in the 1960s.

For the past two years, it has been me doing all the driving, but with luck, we hope this will not be for ever. Anyway, we had been warned that the roads were a little risky down to the South on the Spilli road, so we left masses of time and took it slowly. Spilli is our traditional place for filling up water bottles and eating very expensive ice cream, so we did the latter! I only ever eat ice creams out of choice at Spilli! I left K at the cafe and bought some Cretan herbs from the natural products shop and was amused to find a herb mix called “Resuscitation” and another for “Energy” and bought these along with lavender scented oil, which is always good to have. I will let you know whether they work or not!

Then we pressed on and negotiated the rock falls, road closures/deviations and after that a road slippage which took up the entire one side of the road on a blind bend. Slowing down and copious use of the hooter ensured that we passed through it without too much bother. Soon we were bowling down the roads to the coast circuiting around Phaestos, where the large archaeological remains of a palace are and admiring all the different colours of wild flowers in the kerbsides and fields. The weather was bright and sunny but there was a biting northerly wind and we were glad to have remembered woolly jumpers.

Matala was just opening for the season. We were on the third floor of the hotel and it took several trips to unpack the car! The hotel was 2*, so not luxurious, but clean, functional and with extremely nice and helpful staff. We had an evening to familiarise ourselves with the small resort before most people arrived on Saturday. Our archaeological friend, Don gave us a good and informative talk about Agia Triada on Saturday night with maps and explanations about the artefacts which had come from the site and thoughtful answers to our questions. So much imagination and theorising goes on in terms of ancient times and no one can know for sure exactly what happened in these aeons of history. It's all good fun though.

The site at Agia Triada has been excavated by various teams of Italian archaeologists. The following morning, we split into two groups and toured the site identifying the open courtyard areas, the work areas, store rooms, channels which seemed to take water away from the building, mini throne like benches with frescoes behind. Leaning over one level to peep into a lower level, we could see enormous pithoi decorated pots and it took us a while to work out ways that these could have been potted, fired or moved in view of their enormous size! The logistics of all that we see, keep us guessing all the time! Finally Don explained how the large and well preserved kiln would have worked. I couldn't even imagine how the huge ali ba ba type pots could have been moved from the area of the kiln to where they were now. Perhaps they made individual kilns for them or constructed conveyances a bit like a sedan chair? Intriguing isn't it?

The party had Sunday lunch together in a very small village taverna and for the most part travelled home after that, but we opted to stay an extra day to be fresh for the journey home on Monday. Therefore, I returned to Matala and had my first swim of the season. It was ARCTIC and took all of 45 seconds, but we enjoyed ourselves and walked back to the hotel for a hot shower.

Next morning, we set off for home but opted for another route via the Amari Valley. Lots of people have told us how lovely it is, so we were determined to pay a visit before much more time passed. The road was surprisingly good and the scenery spectacular. Best of all, I think we only passed half a dozen cars all told on the whole journey home, until we met the main road on the North Coast again at Stavromenos.

Since then, we have been doing 'Spring has Sprung' jobs at home; cleaning the dust from the terrace and outside furniture, topping up the flower pots, filling in plaster holes and a bit of painting. We need to do much, much more to prepare for a very busy May and June. I am reminded that the “Energy” tea might be beneficial. We will be having visitors from cruise ships into Heraklion who will be making very short stops and family and friends over the summer months. After two lost summers, there is a great deal of sorting out to get on with. Bring it on!

K's MRI results scans were ready to collect on Wednesday and they seem to be encouragingly good. It has put an extra spring in our step and we are looking forward to this summer to get fit again!

INTERMISSION

Our Mountain ... view from the terrace

There has been a gap of several weeks since our last update. In the intervening weeks, there have been journeys back to the UK, family time, sparkling UK weather and the odd reversal of returning from the UK to Crete taking off in bright sparkling sunshine and landing through overcast layers of gloom and cold wind and rain at the airport in Heraklion. There had been lots going on in England, a fitting day of ceremony, reunion and sharing memories at Dad's funeral.  Easter weekend and time to get to a church round the corner, wonderful catchup time with one daughter from New Zealand and our son from the UK, brothers, larger family and lastly a bit of retail therapy thrown in for good measure. As always, my suitcase had quite a lot of extra goods and chattels, so my jumpers were posted back to Crete to make room for it all on the flight home.

On the minus side, I had also managed to acquire an abscess under a back tooth and a pulled muscle in my back, so driving back round the mountains from the airport was not easy, but I was glad to get back home again and think about cooking up a storm in the new kitchen. I still can't quite believe that this could be MY space yet.  Carefully wrapped in soft layers, I brought back a small painting of my mother's and this has been hung up in the Cook's corner of the kitchen where all the baking equipment is stowed.  I am hoping that my Mum's inspiration will spur me on to better cakes!

Back in the village, preparations were beginning for Greek Easter the following weekend. Lots of sweeping, mopping and tidying so that processions around the village would be able to see all the front door steps in a good light. Barbecue pits were being dug out and preparations made for the lamb cooked over charcoal after the long weeks of Lenten fasting and lots of wonderful feasts.  Bells tolled on Good Friday, the sun came out briefly on Easter Sunday and things began to get a bit more hopeful that this long drawn out winter here would finally come to an end. Loud firecrackers and gunshots kept us awake at midnight and next door's dog was not happy about it.  We have had a few days lovely sunshine, but the winds are strong and there is a nip in the air still. Lots of tourists have been in evidence and now, hardened to all the layers needed to get through the damp winters, people in sun dresses, short shorts and skimpy tee shirts look very, very foreign! We still have our cardigans and jumpers on but there have been some brave souls on their holidays splashing about in the sea in Panormo. I can wait a while yet.

In addition to Art School and Makers – regularly weekly groups to get busy, a small choir has also started to meet and we have lots of fun trying out pieces like Ode to Joy, the Blue Danube and various two or three part melodies with a mixture of pan-European and American friends. We are all enjoying the experience and expanding our repertoire week by week.

A giant mandolin left behind from Carnivali!

We have had a good week medically: I've managed to get to the dentist, K has got two MRI scans done (two hours in a metal tube!) and I have managed to get some painkillers for my back. This is all in preparation for the drive down to the South of Crete this weekend for an archaeology jaunt to look at Agia Triada. We discussed it briefly a year or so back when the group toured Phaestos and it is close to there, but we will be staying at Matala. Matala is the place where hippies lived in the seaside caves back in the 1960s. Fortunately, we have a hotel booked! We hear that the road down to the south is a bit dodgy after the winter landslides and lots of pot holes make it tricky. Indeed one of our number flipped his car upside-down on a bit of muddy road driving back from Easter Lunch, but was fortunately perfectly OK and simply opened the door and scrambled out. We were all much relieved but the car was a write off. The roads here are pretty daunting with lots of large pot holes, rocks from overhanging cliffs and mad drivers, so we will be taking things at a steady pace tomorrow.

Crete is still waiting for the good weather to begin properly, but I have seen lots of walkers in the hills and wayside paths admiring the beautiful spring flowers – orchids, tulips, anemones, lupins … large fields of them growing totally wild in the higher reaches. We hope to be able to stop for a spell to see them on our journey tomorrow. Time will tell.

More exciting chapters to follow next week ...

SPRING IS ROUND THE CORNER

An abbreviated blog because I need to get back to the UK at the end of this week and there is quite a lot to do in the interim. My dear old Dad passed away in the UK, at the age of 93 and important happenings call me back to the UK.

In the meantime, Spring has not really shown its face in Crete as it is still uncharacteristically cold although there are one or two swallows in evidence, nest building in the eaves of the little kafeneon, a few doors down. We have been cleaning and sorting our nest too, because horrendous levels of soot and dust gather on everything during the winter months of wood fires anyway. This was all added to when Rik, the English Builder turned up to make a start on the kitchen.

I thought I had made adequate preparations for this by moving all the contents of the old kitchen wall cupboards into boxes upstairs and moving the microwave, toaster and kettle into the living room. We never realised what creatures of habit we were until the things we reach for every day, without giving any thought, were boxed up or just put in different places. It was so exhausting trying to remember where we had put everything - and after all the walls had been drilled for new power points and an extra inch of dust landed on everything, things had to be moved again and covered with dustsheets. Two weekends were spent decorating grotty walls without a kitchen sink and it took quite a few days to get running water back again. Cleaning paint brushes in the shower is not to be recommended! True to form, the stop cock to our water supply had been cemented over by the local water board and the Builder had an unexpected bath as he tried to sort out the plumbing without having an easy way to stop the 'flow of the pipes' completely. (Greek insurance term)

A truck brought the base and cupboard units which had all been made up to plan and, in its manoeuvrings to the outside of the house, very nearly demolished the tree in the process since the lanes are so narrow hereabouts. The factory guys looked at our kitchen, having been involved in the manufacture, and looked doubtfully at the wall where the concrete support pillar stood out from the rest of the wall like a chimney breast. They did not think that the Builder would be able to make the units fit round it. We did have to have a reshuffle of base units and take some of the back out of a few, but bless his heart, Rik the Builder worked like a Trojan and fitted everything together beautifully. IT IS FABULOUS!

Before

After

I had ordered a dishwasher (a complete luxury for two of us) but great for large cleaning jobs in the kitchen where you need to clear cupboards and drawers completely to clean the dust out and do large loads while shelves and drawers get properly scrubbed and debugged. The dust gathers on every surface every day with doors and windows open. When I went back to the electrical shop, the owner was overwhelmingly pleased when I made an order for a fridge freezer as well. No doubt he will be able to pay some household bills this week!! He took me over the road to the coffee shop and insisted that the proprietors made me doughnuts. Terrible for the figure, but delicious covered with honey, nuts and seeds. I had made somebody else happy, as well as me!

Before

After

Little trips out of the house this week have demonstrated that Cretans are getting ready for the new tourist season. So many of the tavernas in Panormo are replacing roofs and floors, hosing down all the outside areas, receiving deliveries of new furniture. At Vinzi's, our favourite coffee shop – the perspex roof and metal gazebo supports were all down on the ground, whether for cleaning and painting or replacing, not sure yet. The sun was out on Saturday morning and every place was like a beehive of industry while cleaning and preparation took place prior to Easter. In Rethymnon, many hotels are having a refurb and all the pavements and promenade are being dug up and replaced. All that is needed now is for all the debris, water bottles and flotsam to disappear from the shoreline. Tourists never realise what preparations go on before they arrive at their chosen resorts!

We took our colander outside to view the Eclipse this week but, to be honest, it was much better watching the TV coverage and being sure that our eyesight did not deteriorate any more than it has already. Silent, mystical, magical – no wonder the Ancients thought the world was ending. We couldn't believe that the last Eclipse (which seems like yesterday) was so long ago!

Our Makers Craft Session is continuing, Art School is on hold at the moment while Tim and Janice get their new house ready for visitors in May. They have also lost a number of pupils recently, so will need to make a fresh start with new people again. We were devastated to hear that Tony, one of the art school pupils, who had caught pneumonia before Christmas and been treated in Crete and flown back to the UK, died in early March. My last proper memory of him was when he turned up for Art Class on his motor bike in December. The suddenness of his loss is a bit scary.

A small choir has begun to meet in a friend's house which is lovely. We meet once a week and are practising songs and canons. It is a good time and means negotiating country roads in the dark, but I have coped so far. There is also the possibility of a small church group meeting nearer home with the help of the Anglican Chaplain from Kefalas. We have a lovely friendship group which shares the car journey to the chapel of St Thomas every month or so but something local would be popular.

I may be able to write about Easter in the UK and Easter in Crete when I return! In the meantime, Niko-the-Wood has just knocked on the door and given us two bottles of the most delicious looking olive oil. How wonderful! A-dieo!