I need to work out how to change the time setting as this post is actually on Sunday 5th May
“MY” new car is a Skoda Fabia – please remember Skoda jokes are so yesterday!
Alan’s new washing machine is a Whirlpool – a local company offered a same day delivery service, we wouldn’t get that in the UK. Due to being en route to look at the car we opted for delivery next week.
We have bought the car from a Swedish lady who is moving lock stock and barrel back to Sweden. I found out about the car via a really useful page for buyers/sellers on Facebook – after I posted a notice to say I was looking for a car we had several very high quality responses so I am bound to use it again.
This is the site if you want to use it www.facebook.com/groups/181649568578125/
Here in Greece it is the Orthodox Easter, the most important religious festival of the year. If you like peace and quiet never visit Crete at Easter.
Good Friday evening we joined the congregation outside of the large church near our house. At the end of the service a flower decked bier was carried three times around the outside of the church by bearers wearing national costume, heralded by choir boys banging on iron bars to scare away the devil and followed by the service participants. After this, the parade went along the high street to meet up with similar processions from another two churches. “Our” church had the best decorated bier, illuminated from the inside by a clever light – but, in my opinion, the light adorned crucifix at the head of the procession was a bit over the top!
Easter Mystery - What gets about 30 men with large pick up trucks to Lidl at opening time on Easter Saturday? Answer - a ridiculous "when its gone its gone offer" on packs of 24 dumpy beers. We joined this throng by accident just keen to stock the larder and wondered what on earth was going on. Of course once we realised, Alan deemed it impossible to have a trolley without at least one pack - it worked out that each beer was equivalent to 15p. The till queues snaked the length of the shop but as most of the shoppers only had a trolley full of beer we were actually served quite quickly. Can you imagine the men being so keen to do the shopping if their wives said that Lidl had a fantastic offer on eggs?
Good Friday evening we joined the congregation outside of the large church near our house. At the end of the service a flower decked bier was carried three times around the outside of the church by bearers wearing national costume, heralded by choir boys banging on iron bars to scare away the devil and followed by the service participants. After this, the parade went along the high street to meet up with similar processions from another two churches. “Our” church had the best decorated bier, illuminated from the inside by a clever light – but, in my opinion, the light adorned crucifix at the head of the procession was a bit over the top!
Easter Mystery - What gets about 30 men with large pick up trucks to Lidl at opening time on Easter Saturday? Answer - a ridiculous "when its gone its gone offer" on packs of 24 dumpy beers. We joined this throng by accident just keen to stock the larder and wondered what on earth was going on. Of course once we realised, Alan deemed it impossible to have a trolley without at least one pack - it worked out that each beer was equivalent to 15p. The till queues snaked the length of the shop but as most of the shoppers only had a trolley full of beer we were actually served quite quickly. Can you imagine the men being so keen to do the shopping if their wives said that Lidl had a fantastic offer on eggs?
The evening of Easter Saturday we went to the lake in Agios Nikolaos to see the spectacular celebrations. It was so moving to see the lake edge thronged with people holding candles waiting for the Church congregations to arrive. The Pappas took to the lakeside stage to complete the service and by each person with a lit candle lighting the one held by their neighbour a ring of light flowed around the lake. At midnight the Pappas announced “Christos Anestis”, (Christ has Risen) and this was the cue for fireworks to light up the sky and explosions to shake the ground. A clever device set a ball of fire from the cliff top down to ignite a “Judas” suspended from his gibbet placed on a raft in the centre of the lake – this was soaked in flammable liquid so the flames were immediate and intense.
Alan enjoys the generosity of the local ladies who share Easter cakes and I enjoy the opportunity to invite them in the house to demonstrate just how bad my Greek is. This year I gambled on such gifts and didn’t buy any Easter cakes, a good move as after four such gifts I am running out of containers to keep them in!
This week has been far warmer than we could have expected so today we went to a beach and exposed the white flesh – of course I should have tried harder on that diet! The water was warmer than we expected so had a swim too.
More seasonal weather is expected by the end of next week so perhaps I will get to wear my walking boots.
More seasonal weather is expected by the end of next week so perhaps I will get to wear my walking boots.
Meanwhile, to those in the UK, enjoy May Bank holiday.
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