life goes on

Cicadas start trilling at 5.45am  By 5.47 they are all in full deafening chorus.

Congratulations on the majority 'NO' vote  were sent to Alexis Tsipras from Fidel Castro and the President of Argentina

Varoufakis resigns - our outspoken finance minister for the last 5 months stepped down because he was getting up the Europeans nose.  Ahah but he'll still be 'consulting', so there.
We'll miss his daily messages to the people.  A short note on twitter, a reversal in a BBC interview, a revised version to CNN and a denial of all it to the greek people.

He was popular, with his dress code of no ties, shirt untucked, collar turned up and press conferences in jeans and t-shirt.  The greeks love his rebel style.


EUROPE says - it will be interesting to see what the greeks have to offer after they have all voted against the Europeans.  Talks must start again from the beginning and Greece will have to show it wants to stay in Europe and stop calling us terrorists.

GREEKS say - we go armed with the will of the people into the mother of all battles .  Our position is so much stronger now we have the majority of our people with us and the opposition alongside.  We are certain of a fair bailout deal.

I  watched 'other' news on a foreign news channel.    The rest of the world is not glued to their tv sets waiting to see what Tsipras will do next. 

NZ has a weakening dollar and the poor dairy farmers are getting lower prices for their milk. 
CHINA's economy is 'worsening' whatever that may mean
IRAN is having nuclear talks with some one
WIMBLEDON the tennis champs are battling it out.  We used to watch Wimbledon.  It was shown on the national tv channel.  They no longer have the money and it is on NOVA (cable or satellite) which we do not have
DALIA LAMA is having his 80th birthday
A UFO was sighted over MAUNGATAPU.
ALEIN life has been spotted on a comet, of all things.
MY gosh, I'm missing out on so much, especially alien spaceships in NZ.   

Another  thousand mainly Syrian refugees landed on the island of Leros yesterday.  The island of Kos has accepted 6000 refugees so far this year. Facilities for them are zero.  Refugees are arriving daily on all the islands along the Turkish coast. Every month 800 refugees are given air tickets and paid to go home.  This money ended on June 30.  The rest are fingerprinted and receive papers a for six months stay in Greece.  Most of them are transported to Piraeus and left at the harbour or dumped in the centre of Athens where the problem is even worse. Some already have relatives here who look after them, some find work.  Most of them 'sunbathe' (as a govt official suggested was the case)  in the big squares in Athens. 

Other countries have even bigger problems.  Ye gods and little fishes, you mean Greece isn't really the centre of the earth.  But Delphi is the tummy button of the world.  Homer
said so.

Drinking frappe (iced coffee), eating vegemite sandwiches, tapping away on the computer and listening to the oysterband.  My kind of heaven.

Have you ever heard of the Oysterband.  Real good toe tapping Irish stuff. 

Kostas is away in Athens today.  He has carpel tunnel syndrome again only worse.  Fortunately there is a boat today so he only pays 21 euros return instead of 50 on the hydrofoil, all public transport in Athens is free (last week and this week) and the Navy Hospital will treat him for free.  However it is around 36o today.  Not a time to travel.

NB about marmite or vegemite.  Travellers, don't forget us when you're coming this way.  Marmite/vegemite, ginger nuts, pineapple lumps/chunks and an 'english' magazine.

We were getting used to this austerity business and now and again could surf around EBAY and bid on  cheap bargains from  clothes to fishing gear.  Greek credit cards now only work inside Greece.  Paypal is off limits to Greeks.  We don't have the money  for foreign goods  anyway.

WE SUPPORT GREECE, whether we like it or not.

In 2010 when wages were sliced and pensions just about halved we were just getting to enjoy the consumer life style.  Over the last 5 years we got used to austerity and even came to see it as a good thing.  But even that 'less is best' lifestyle has come to an end.  Now it is save and survive. Waste not ,want not in all its reality.

Love to you all.  Thanks for all your emails, support and news. 
The media makes it sound so much worse.  In fact we're all happy and well fed at the moment, on this island at least.