Snakes alive

It's religion again, but this time it's also a
'weird or what'..

For centuries, very year between the 5th and the 15th August,  small snakes appear at the church of the Virgin Mary on the island of Kefalonia.   This year they appeared on August 5th, crawling around the church and its surrounds and remained in the area till August 15th when they suddenly disappeared for another year. Some think that the church is on their migratory route.  Some think it is a miracle of the Virgin Mary (whose big fiesta is on the 15th).

   They are up to one metre long and have a small black cross on their heads.   The snakes are harmless and bus loads of people arrive every day to interact with them.  

They are seen by the islanders as a blessing.  If they do not appear it is a very bad omen.    They failed to appear in 1953 and their was a disastrous earthquake, 7.5 on the richter scale .  They also failed to appear the year that the Germans occupied the island.

Charles and Camilla   -

After a few days resting at the Rothschild estate on Kerkyra (Corfu) Charles and Camilla boarded a luxury yacht to cruise the Aegean.

The yacht will be sailing near Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain of Greece, where Charles will be visiting churches and monasteries.

Mount Athos does not allow females to set foot on the their holy land.  Not even female dogs, chickens, cows or goats.  The presence of women slows the monks spiritual journey, so they say.  

Mount Athos (Agion Oros in greek)  is a peninsular in northern Greece on which there are 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries.  There are over 2,000 monks mainly from the balkans and Russia. Only men are allowed to enter and only with a special permit.

Grigoriou Monastery

Camilla must stay on board the luxury yacht and hark to her knitting.